


What you would find attractive...

by RunAroundScreaming



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Enemy Lovers, M/M, Redemption, Slow Build, but not really, kind of, these boys love jazz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:49:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 28,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24442369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunAroundScreaming/pseuds/RunAroundScreaming
Summary: I will be whatever person Ren Amamiya wants me to be. A dim-wit, a rival, a genius, a friend, a lover. Whatever is needed to take him down.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 15
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This will be a story that explores Akechi's complicated (to say the least) feelings towards the protagonist (which goes by Ren Amamiya in this, hope too many of you don't mind). It will be from Akechi's point of view throughout the year they know each other.  
> This is the first time I have ever written fan fiction, but I'll do my best!  
> BEWARE that this story will contain spoilers for Akechi's confidant in Persona 5 Royal, but it will not go into, and therefore not have any spoilers from, the 3rd semester.

The sun cast it's gleaming rays of pure, burning pain in through the car windows. Still wearing the winter school uniform, it was becoming more difficult for me to handle by the minute. I wasn't too worried though, I could freshen up once I reached the TV station, and hoped that there weren't too many people there to see the Detective Prince not looking his best. I planned to soon buy my own car anyway. This one didn't have an AC, and stank of sweat and forgotten fries and cheetos. It would have to do though, I hadn't had the time to get my own license quite yet, so people from the TV stations I starred on usually helped me with the ride. This time, it was from one of the low-level employees. We shared some small talk, I kept my smile up, complimented him on his stellar car. It was difficult not to sound sarcastic.  
"Akechi-kun, ya know, if you took the subway, I'm sure you'd see a lot of pretty girls that would be dying to talk to ya! Don't'ya think that'd be amazin'?" he asked. He was getting on my nerves. I would have preferred some silence to think in this cheeto-smelling oven at least, but I couldn't even get that  
"Ah yes, it seems like my popularity has grown somewhat recently. It's quite embarrassing though."  
"Hehe, well, if ya ever need some good ol' tips about the ladies, you can come and ask me. Diddya know where I worked? It's in the editing room. You'll be sure to find me there."  
"Thank you, I'll be sure to keep it in mind for future reference," I said. I smiled, even though he was keeping his eyes on the road. I felt like I still needed to keep the mask up, just in case he ever looked my way, or saw in the corner of his eye that I actually wanted to scowl at the mere suggestion of that. This man was pathetic. He'd never achieve anything in life, and I'd almost feel sorry for anyone stupid enough to see something in him worth loving.

The idle chatter continued, and during the moments of silence I explored my mind for a course of action regarding the Phantom Thieves. I asked them to bring up the subject during the interview, and I needed satisfactory answers to whatever they threw my way. More importantly though, I needed to know how to draw the Thieves out. How to make them fail. I still didn't have a lot of information about them, but it was quite clear to me that they would not agree with me or my methods of doing things. And with that, at some point, they would likely be in my way.

"Would'ya look at that! We're here," said the man enthusiastically, as if I couldn't notice the TV station right in front of us, which I had appeared on just over a month earlier.  
"Thank you for driving me yet again. I hope your workload doesn't pile up because you drove me here?"  
"Nah, nah, no worries. They said somethin' 'bout not needin' me at the moment," I could imagine they told him that because of his lack of competence in his own field of work and general lack of effort. Of course they wouldn’t miss him if he left, but the Detective Prince would of course not say that. So I stayed quiet.

As I made my way through the colourless hallways of the TV station I pleasantly reciprocated to some greetings and belated birthday wishes. I noticed a larger group of youths all wearing Shujin uniforms as I passed by, too quickly for any of them to notice me. I had planned my interview to be the same day as the Shujin visit. I wanted to hear what the students there thought of the incidents, and if any of them wanted to give me any indication of the identities of the Phantom Thieves. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that the Phantom Thieves most likely attended Shujin, that's how they'd know about Kamoshida's abuse. If I discredited the Thieves enough and put myself on a pedestal of justice, then perhaps one of the diligent students would want to tell me about any potential gossip. And I would take any clue I could get at that point. I eventually found my way to the room I would be using during my time there. Still lacking in colour or wall decorations, but a comfortable sofa, a mirror and styling products were at my disposal. Only a couple strands of hair looked out of place, an easy fix.

I stayed there, going through my thoughts and scrolling through the Phantom Aficionado Website. I would need to consider my words carefully, if I criticized the Phantom Thieves it could be troublesome for me if they continued gaining popularity. At the moment, few people even believed they existed. I, of course, knew better. I had little doubt in my mind that there now were other metaverse users. Most likely with the power to summon personas as well. There were few alternative explanations.

On my way out to head towards a meeting with the director I heard some voices, sounded like Shujin students. I decided to stay for a minute, hopefully they'd move on. I did not want to bother with talking to more people recognizing me from TV with pointless, void conversations. It sounded like three people. They were complaining about needing to work during their time there. Then, a loudmouth of them said something that piqued my interest.  
"Bein' Phantom Thieves ain't easy."

Idiots.

There was a girl saying they'd get to go straight home after this, another voice, sounding androgynous, exclaiming about a "pancake-looking place" they wanted to eat at. A boy, the loudmouth, sounding quite simple-minded in his speech, talked about Dome Town. The conversation continued on about cats not being able to go on the rides.

I stayed in the hopes of them continuing their remark about being Phantom Thieves, but they seemed to have moved on. I decided barge into the conversation. The odds were high that these people around the corner were the metaverse users I would have to destroy. It was time to remember their faces.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice your uniforms. Are you students of Shujin Academy?" I put on an even softer voice than usual in the hopes of quickly gaining their trust. The loudmouth was quick to answer.  
"Yeah, whaddya want?" None of them seemed to recognize me. In front of me stood a blonde girl, she struck me as being of foreign descent, the loudmouth had bleached hair and horrible posture, and a boy with disheveled, black hair and glasses. The two blondes seemed kind of dim-witted, but the dark haired one had quite the analyzing glare effectively hidden behind the glasses. He must have been the one with the androgynous sounding voice.

I apologized for interrupting and told them we were filming together tomorrow, and introduced myself. The girl seemed to somewhat recognize the name, but didn't press the subject.  
"My apologies, I truly was just passing by. I must be going." I said. "So, you're going to go have cake now?" As soon as I said this the one with black hair opened his mouth just slightly and squinted his eyes, but quickly went back to a blank expression.  
"I missed lunch today, so I'm quite hungry myself..." I continued, laying on the charm in my voice since he seemed to react peculiarly to what I said. But all of them appeared a bit confused by this point.  
"Huh? Cake...? What're you talkin' about?'' asked the loudmouth. I messed up.  
"Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes." They must not have thought I had heard that part, would they realize I eavesdropped about the Phantom Thieves comment too? I'd better leave before they think too much about it. "No matter. Welp, see you tomorrow."

Mental note to self:  
At least three Phantom Thieves. A blonde girl, she had looks and could probably use it to her advantage against men as well as shadows, didn't stand out in many other ways. A boy with bleached hair, seemed incapable of most basic things. Definitely not the brains behind the operation. Black haired one, didn't talk much after I arrived. Possibly shy? Didn't give the impression of being as dull as the other two.

This was a lucky day after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first proper meeting between the Detective Prince and the leader of the Phantom Thieves

It was the day of the TV interview, but I had planned what I wanted to say the night before, Present my desire for heroes of justice to exist, present a soft, cute side that wishes for Santa to be real, explain that they would both have to be tried in the court of law, and criticize the Phantom Thieves for their “unknown” methods. My plan to gain gossip from the students about the identities of the Phantom Thieves was completely irrelevant thanks to the bottle-blonde loudmouth the day before, so I didn’t feel much pressure to sway the audience in my favor. I did criticize the Thieves, so when they inevitably fall, I will have been the first to predict it. Foolproof. 

Though, as fate would have it, when the hostess of the show stood up to ask a member of the audience questions about the Phantom Thieves, she stopped right by the criminal himself. The boy with black hair and glasses. He was startled himself, it seemed, but he was quick to regain his composure.  
“Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on these Phantom Thieves, if they were real?” she asked. I perked up, his opinion might be the most valuable one in the room at the moment. His eyes shifted towards me, and he looked at me like no one else had quite done before.  
“They’re necessary. They do more than the cops,” he said with clear conviction. His words were filled with resolve that left me no doubt that he had more of a leading role than the two blondes next to him. The voice was deep, and a nice change of pace after talking to the TV hosts who put on an overly cheerful demeanor for the cameras. His voice just sounded like his own. But, it was completely different from the androgynous one I had heard the day before. Was there a fourth member that walked away before I saw them?  
I didn’t have the time to sort through those minor inquiries of mine though, I had an appearance to keep up. I laughed slightly, as if amused by his take on the situation.  
“It’s rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement,” I said, deciding to test him further, “In that case, there’s one more question I’d like to ask…”  
He gave me just the tiniest smirk, as if to challenge me to ask, as if he knew he had all the right answers to whatever I’d come at him with.  
“If someone close to you, for example your friend next to you… If his heart suddenly changed, wouldn’t you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?”  
“I have no reason to think so. The Phantom Thieves have only targeted criminals.”  
“I see, but how can you be so sure?” I dug for his more complete answer.  
“What would you think?” he retorted, still with a calm, determined expression. He was definitely amusing.  
“Ah, throwing the question back at me? Well, my opinion on the topic is that there is a more important issue at hand,” I said. The cheerful hostess took the microphone and walked back, to the black haired boy’s discontent.  
“Hm? What do you mean?” asked the male host.  
“The matter of how they change people’s hearts. If they honestly possess that ability, it could be used for more than extracting confessions. It could be that what seem to be ordinary crimes are actually being perpetrated by these methods.” I said. I could feel the audience’s eyes on me, everyone eager to hear more about it. 

The interview continued on in a similar vein. I occasionally cast glimpses towards the three Phantom Thieves. The girl appeared a bit dejected, I had a feeling that maybe my words about them being unjust might have gotten to her. The loudmouth was barely able to control his bitter scowl. The intriguing one, the one with black hair, never seemed to peel his eyes off me. He occasionally had a taunting smile, but otherwise kept himself neutral.

I wanted to talk to him more.

After the show ended, I caught the boy standing around, leaning against a wall, most likely waiting for someone.  
“Oh, it’s you!” I said joyfully as I walked up to him. He gave me a nod and stood up straighter to face me.  
“I’m glad I found you, I wanted to thank you in person,” I continued, “To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.”  
He was a bit taken aback.  
“Ah, right,” he said, an unsure smile forming on his lips.  
“Haha, my apologies. I wanted to show my gratitude. Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier,” and as I said that, a thought occurred to me.  
“Adults are only interested in using the young, while they simply do as the adults say,” I began with a solemn tone, and it catched his attention. I of course only said this to relate to him and give us more of an equal footing. “I feel like our discussions could prove quite fruitful. Would you mind talking with me again?”  
“I’d love to,” he said. I reached out my hand towards him, and he shook it.  
“Ren Amamiya.” Through the thin gloves I was wearing I could feel that his skin was quite cold compared to my own.  
“Thank you. I look forward to meeting you again,” I said. We exchanged contact information, and parted ways.

On my way back to my apartment, I got a ride from the pathetic man working in the editing room again. The cheetos smell was not growing on me. He complimented me on a successful TV appearance, and filled the time with more pointless chitchat. I half ignored him and only responded with a short “hum” every now and again, since my mind was taken up by Ren Amamiya at that point. I didn’t get a feel for what kind of person he was. I thought he might have been a bit competitive and arrogant, but it was hard to say yet. Anyway, I needed to come closer to him. I would become his friend, and I would be whatever person he wanted me to. Did he want someone moronic as the blondie next to him? I could play that part if that’s what was needed. Nothing I’ve shown him so far has been the real me, after all, our new friendship here would not be any different. I had to take him down.

During the ride, I got a call. It was Shido.  
“Hello, sorry, I’m not really available to talk right no-” I began, but the man next to me raised his voice.  
“Nah nah no worries, I’ll be quiet as a rock over here, you go ‘head an’ get talkin’” he said.  
“The book you requested has been left at the usual spot. You can pick it up whenever,” said Shido. He was talking about the Shujin school catalogue. I requested it after seeing the Phantom Thieves. It was just a precaution so I could find out their names, but now that I have the contact information of the assumed leader, it was no longer necessary. I’d still keep it, just in case, though.  
“I’ll pick it up right away,” I said, and hung up. Formalities like bidding goodbyes were unnecessary between Shido and I.  
“Sooooo…?” the man probed.  
“Hm? Sorry?” I asked.  
“Well who was it? Some big shot police man? Some buddy of yours? Or, OR, are you hogging all the cute girls for yourself after all?” he exclaimed and laughed merrily.  
“Haha, nothing of the sort. Just files on some criminals I’m investigating. I can’t tell you much about it though. There is very strict confidentiality in this line of work.”  
“‘Course,’ course’ you don’t gotta tell me nothin’. But man, you sure are doin’ well for a kiddo like yourself.”

He dropped me off outside my apartment building. I didn’t have to walk far to reach “the usual spot”. There was an office building nearby, belonging to a famous law firm. I had access to their archives. That evening, as the sun was setting, I walked through the halls filled completely with shelf after shelf of papers. Finally I reached the box labeled 8467 near the middle of the paper-filled maze. I reached for my key, opened it, and took the school catalogue. The box looked like any other box in the archive, and if anyone working there were to try and open it, their keys wouldn’t fit. Their bosses were of course under Shido’s control, so they would simply take the box and explain that they would look into the problem, and then we would relocate our “usual spot”.

I spent the evening looking through the 2nd years of Shujin Academy. Ren Amamiya, in the same class as Ann Takamaki. Ryuji Sakamoto was in a different class. I used post-it notes to mark the pages they were on, and hid the catalogue under my bed.

It was time to start planning my first outing with the leader of the Phantom Thieves.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi brings Ren to Penguin Sniper to absolutely SCHOOL HIM on pool.

I walked through Kichijoji, umbrella in hand, as the spatter of rain hitting everything around me created a calming atmosphere. I was contemplating whether to go to the jazz club or perhaps head home and read a little with my free time.  
“Akechi?” a smooth voice behind me asked. I turned and saw Amamiya. He was smiling, holding an umbrella of his own that scattered the light from above into colourful patterns across his face. The bottom parts of his pants had gotten soaked, maybe from running through puddles of water.  
“Ah, hello. Nice to see you again so soon,” I said.  
“Same to you. You live nearby?” he said, but I could barely hear him over the sound of the rain.  
“Quite closeby, but I’m actually here because I have some free time on my hands. Care to indulge me in some conversation?” I asked him, and he moved in closer, probably to hear me better too.  
“Of course, we have a deal. How ‘bout we get inside first, though?” he said, looking out towards the rain to emphasize his point. I could only oblige, and lead him into Penguin Sniper.

“How about billiards? I’ll warn you though, I’m quite skilled,” I said, egging on his competitive side.  
“I didn’t imagine you to have enough free time to play billiard very often,” he pondered.  
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m unoccupied, but I’m not busy all the time either. It’s rather that I have a policy to spend my time in meaningful ways.”  
“Like spending your time with me?” he asked, his eyes just barely visible behind his untamed fringe.  
“My detective’s intuition does tell me that you are an intriguing, worthwhile person, but it’s something more about you that draws me in,” I said while preparing the pool table, “I am joking about the detective’s intuition part, of course, haha.”  
“Something that draws you in? Hm, it must be my debonair ways,” he said with a sly grin, while doing a quick hand motion to make the cue stick twirl around his arm. “I am, of course, also joking.”  
That earned a chuckle out of me. And it gave me something to keep in mind, Ren Amamiya was a show-off. Well, two could play that game.  
“You’ve played pool before, correct?” I asked, leaning down into a starting position.  
“Barely, but it did happen sometimes when I was younger. I had a friend who owne-” before he could finish the sentence, I took my shot. The “clinks” as the balls hit each other, and one by one fell into the pockets. I had won.  
“Oh, my apologies. A break ace,” I said nonchalantly. His eyes stayed on the pool table for a moment before finding me again.  
“Not bad,” he smiled. I couldn’t say for sure, but his sentiment sounded genuine.  
“It was just a coincidence. Of course, this game won’t count. Let’s start over,” I said. I still needed to stay on his good side. I got the idea that he was competitive, so was I, but I would have to push that side of me down. Me outclassing him in everything would surely have led to his discontentment. 

We set up another game, but I decided on using my right hand, instead of my left as usual. It’s not that big of a difference, but it would be a little bit more of a challenge for me at least. Or, so I thought. It was clear that he hadn’t played in a long time, and occasionally made beginner mistakes on how hard he should shoot. I tried the encouraging friend act, and gave light cheers at crucial moments, not that it helped. It was quite even between us once I started holding back a bit more, though.

I finally shot my last ball into the pocket.  
“I win. That was a close one, though. I suppose it would have been embarrassing to lose as your senior, huh?” I said cheerfully, trying to soften the blow for him. His gaze was settled on the pool table, eyebrows furrowed, as if in deep thought.  
“Is something the matter?” I asked. Amamiya looked over towards me.  
“Yeah…” he said, gesturing towards my hands holding the cue. “You used your right hand.”  
I was taken aback for a second.  
“Huh…” was all I could mutter. His eyebrows furrowed again, and he took a couple of steps closer to me. Suddenly, we were less than three feet apart.  
“I’d prefer you go all out,” he said in a neutral tone.  
“I’m honestly impressed you noticed,” I said once I found my voice again. I raised my left arm. “That’s right, this is my dominant hand. I switched hands during the game. It’s nothing against you. Going all-out against a junior just seems a bit gauche…” I said, hoping he’d accept that answer. Amamiya sighed and placed his cue stick on the pool table. He leaned back against the table and crossed his arms, waiting for me to continue talking.  
“I confess that you’ve surprised me. I'm rather dextrous with my right hand. Frankly, I didn’t expect you to see through it,” I said with a small smile. It was true, if I had any idea he had paid that much attention to me, I wouldn’t have taken that risk.  
Amamiya took the cue from my right hand, and gripped my left, handing me the cue. His hand was smooth and soft, but still as cold as I remember from the TV station. The rain outside had probably not helped much with that either.  
“No holding back next time, okay?” he asked.  
“Interesting. It’s a nice idea… I’d like to try a match where I don’t have to hold anything back,” I said. I placed my cue next to his and moved in closer toward him, putting my hand down on the pool table, leaning down, trapping him under my height.  
“You truly are interesting. You never cease to intrigue me,” I said while searching for his eyes. Unfortunately, he didn’t meet my gaze, and appeared to be trying to look away. He swallowed thickly. I took a step back, coming to the conclusion that he’s one of those people that like their own personal space. And I’m not the one that’s gonna challenge that.

As soon as I backed away he relaxed his shoulders a bit. He removed his glasses to wipe them with his shirt while still avoiding eye contact.  
“How about this…” I began, and his focus shifted towards me, “If you ever manage to win against me using my right hand, then I will face you with everything I have.”  
“You won’t go easy on me then?” he asked.  
“I promise.”

Once I made it home the feelings of talking with Amamiya lingered. The jolt of adrenaline when he noticed my right hand, normal people had never noticed that before. Excitement over how he would act and what he would say next time we met were playing with my brain, and that’s when I called him.  
“Hey. Thanks for coming along today,” I said. I could hear over the call that the rain still surrounded him, “Our game turned out to be more interesting than I expected.”  
“I feel the same way. I’ll hold you to that promise you made.”  
“Haha, of course,” I began, searching for the words he would want to hear, “I think you’d be an interesting influence on me. If you’re so inclined, we could go out again sometime.”  
I wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted to hear, or if it was just what I wanted to say.  
“As rivals?” I could hear the smirk in his question. It sounded almost more as a statement.  
“Haha… whatever works for you. As long as I can spend some time with you, think of it as you please,” I said. It appeared as if he wanted to see me as his rival. Maybe he felt he needed some friendly competition, understandable when his partners were so dull in comparison to him.  
“I’ll reach out to you again soon. Goodbye for now,” I said. He reciprocated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi's need to grow closer to Ren is growing as his plan to take down the Phantom Thieves is coming to fruition. So they go to a café and play dress-up.

My blood boiled as I got the news about the incarceration of Junya Kaneshiro. I cursed to myself, but had to keep my composure as I went about the rest of my day.

Their targets never appeared to be the ones I’d suspect. And considering I had personally entered both Madarame’s and Kaneshiro’s palaces, I’d be nervous to find out what they’ve possibly learned about me there. Their popularity continued to grow after this incident, but it was not necessarily a bad thing. Shido forged a plan to take down the Phantom Thieves, with me being a key player in his dirty work, of course. I hated to admit it, but it was devious and well thought out. I only had to add small details about how and when things should go down. An important factor in this plan, that would make it all easier in the long run, was that I grew closer with Ren Amamiya. An easy thing to do, he still seemed to have his guard up against me, but people are easy to crack, and with time, he’d be no different.

“Hello, Amamiya?” it had been mere days since the arrest, but I wanted to move along our friendship as fast as possible. I talked almost a bit too enthusiastically when I heard he answered his phone.  
“Hello honey,” he replied. I held back a groan.  
“The weather is pleasant today, care to join me for a walk? There is a café in Kichijoji I’ve been meaning to try.”  
“I’ll be right over,” he said. We decided to meet outside Penguin Sniper and walk to the café together.

He arrived, and it was the first time I saw Amamiya outside his school uniform. He wore a plain black t-shirt with a white dress shirt above it. The sleeves were rolled up to show off his forearms, where he wore a watch on his left wrist. Plain jeans, and a pair of boots. Stylish enough, but it gave off a vibe of not wanting to stand out. A thought crossed my mind that I’d get to see him in Shujin’s winter uniform in a couple of months. I could already imagine he’d look decidedly handsome.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” he said.  
“I don’t mind waiting when it’s for you,” I said, smiling. I hadn’t quite figured out how to please him yet, but acting like I would do anything for him seemed to work. He appeared almost flustered for a second, and a light pink blush covered his cheeks. Maybe he wasn’t used to praise, could that be why he surrounds himself with dim-wits? To feel superior and gain their admiration? If that’s what he wanted, it was the role I’d play.  
“Oh, well. I’ll try to be faster next time,” he said, waving a hand up in an ambiguous “let’s go” fashion.  
“Of course, I’ll lead the way,” I said, walking past him in the direction of the café. I could hear his footsteps trail behind me as he slowly catched up.

We settled down at the cafés outdoor seating. The evening air was cool against my skin, Amamiya occasionally turned to face the faint wind, caressing his cheeks and just barely letting his wild locks move away from his forehead. When it did, it was at least a little easier to see his eyes, despite the glasses hindering my view. He must have enjoyed it just as much as I had after such a sweltering summer, he looked content. Whenever he stopped and focused back on me, he reclaimed his usual poker-face. It made me all the more determined to break down those walls he built up between us. He rarely talked about his other friends or his own life, but that just might be what I needed to gain an advantage.

“The cake here is fairly popular. I’ve been wanting to try it myself,” I said, breaking the silence. His eyes shifted towards me and a small grin grew on his face.  
“Got a sweet tooth, huh?”  
“Well, I don’t hate sweets, but I’m not exactly partial to them…”  
“Same here,” Amamiya said while picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip, “hm… The coffee here isn’t very good though.”  
I took a sip for myself, and the coffee was splendid. Probably one of the better places in Kichijoji.  
“Really? I quite like it, actually,” I said.  
“I’ll pick the hangout spot next time, if you’re a coffee lover, I know the perfect place.”  
“Haha, I’d love to. It’s a deal then.”

We ate our cakes, for the most part it was a comfortable silence. I occasionally piped up with a comment about the cake, the weather, or how he had dropped a piece of cake right next to the plate. He looked like he took comfort in the silence though, so I eventually idled my chatter and just enjoyed the company.  
After finishing, he stretched his arms high into the air and breathed a deep sigh.  
“Mm. It was quite delicious after all. I actually enjoyed that more than I thought I would,” I said. He looked over towards me and stared at my face for a second or two.  
“I-is something the matter?” I asked.  
“Wait a minute,” he said and stood up from his chair. He walked over towards me and leaned down. Our faces were inches apart. Since I came to the conclusion that he preferred to not have people in his personal space, I didn’t expect him to walk into mine so casually.  
“Uh, y-you-” I said. He brought his hand up and caressed my cheek with his thumb, extremely close to my mouth, he smiled wide.  
“There,” he said, walked back to his seat, and wiped his thumb with a napkin. I saw a small amount of cream from the cake on the napkin. Oh… I was being sloppy. I scolded my heart rate for going through the roof like that over nothing. What did I think? That he had found me out somehow? God…. I needed to get a grip.  
“Ah, thank you,” I said, still hearing my voice shake just slightly. He hopefully didn’t catch it.  
“Maybe I should just have told you. But of course, I couldn’t let the Detective Prince look like a mess for however long,” he said with a small chuckle. A small smile grew on me. The image was silly, really. The Detective Prince, not even able to eat cake properly? I must have eaten it quite fast because of the good taste. How stupid.  
“Detective Prince? Oh, is that him?” said a woman with a shrill voice that was walking past the café. She stopped right in her tracks with the friend she was walking with and pointed toward me.  
“Ooh, you mean the guy that’s on TV these days… who was he again?” asked her friend. Damn it. I looked away to try and hide my face, I’d rather continue spending the evening with Amamiya than deal with this.  
“His name was Akechi-kun, wasn’t it? Should we ask him for an autograph? Might be something worth bragging about” said the shrill voiced one. While keeping my head low I could see from the corner of my eye that Amamiya’s expression fell just slightly.  
“S-sorry. I probably shouldn’t ask them to leave us alone, huh?” his voice was low, as to only be heard by me, but with an unmistakable apologetic tone.  
“Haha, probably not. I have a public image to think about and all…” I said, trying to sound apologetic as well. I had hoped this wouldn’t happen.  
“Huh? Is someone important there?” a man’s voice echoed from somewhere behind me.  
“Huh?! Who is it? Some celebrity?” gasped another woman on my left. I grabbed my things, ready to stand up and leave.  
“Looks like I’m out of time. I wish I could have relaxed a little longer, though,” I said. I wanted to express to him that I really am sorry it turned out like this, I wanted to have a little more time. I could feel my face falling into a somber expression, “we should go.”  
As I looked over towards Amamiya, his glasses flared and I could barely see his eyes to read his emotions.  
“You’ve done nothing wrong,” he said with an unwavering voice, commanding as if there is no room for argument.  
“Sorry, but I think it’d be best to leave. I’m only going to cause problems if I stay,” my mind wandered back to how Amamiya dressed in such an inconspicuous way, as not to be seen.  
“A shame I don’t have glasses like you. Maybe I would have been able to get out of this situation,” I said with an empty laugh. Amamiya’s eyes lit up, and I almost expected him to outright say “Eureka!” right there and then. He stood up and grabbed my arm, lightly janking me to follow his lead.  
“Come here for a sec,” he said insistently.  
“Huh? Hey what are you-?!” I protested, but followed his lead.  
“Trust me, I’ll fix this,” he said. We walked back into the café and headed towards the bathrooms. He pushed me in as he finally let go of my arm.  
“Stay here, I’ll be back in just two minutes,” he said and closed the door before I could turn down whatever kind of offer this was.

I waited in the bathroom, still holding my bag. And much like he said, he returned within less than two minutes. His breath was heavy, whatever he did, he must have ran there. He reached into his pocket and got a pair of glasses.  
“Amamiya, I don’t think it’s actually quite enough to-” I began.  
“J-just… put them on. I’ll fix thi.. Huff…. I’ll fix this. Trust me,” he said while still catching his breath. I took the glasses from him. As soon as he started breathing relatively even again, he moved in real close to me and entwisted his fingers in my hair. We stood face to face, him just slightly shorter than I was, as he was completely focused on my hair. I stared into his eyes, unsure of what he was trying. His breath tickled my face, and a faint smell of coffee emanated from him. He ruffled around on top of my head, but kept a gentle touch. His hands were still colder than my own, so perhaps that’s why I felt my whole body temperature rising, to counteract the sudden coldness.

More and more hair fell in front of my eyes, and it was getting more and more difficult to see past it all.  
“Ta-da!” He exclaimed and turned me around to face the mirror. He messed up my hair. I looked a bit like him, with the glasses and ruffled locks. I didn’t know whether I should laugh or not.  
“Hmm….” was the most appropriate response I could think of.  
“Do you think they’ll recognize you?” he asked.  
“I… suppose now is the time to test it,” I said.

As we walked out again, many of the same people that wanted to see a celebrity still stoodd there. I could feel my shoulders growing rigid. If this failed, it might just draw attention to the Detective Prince sporting an extremely strange look. Doubt it would really help me with the public image.  
“Oh, he’s back! This time I’ll get his autograph for-” the shrill voiced woman quieted down. Her friend piped up.  
“Hey, is that really Akechi-kun?” she said confused. I fought to hold back a smile at the sheer ridiculousness of it. Amamiya looked pleased with himself at least.  
“You know... now that I see him up close, I’m not so sure…” the shrill voiced woman said.  
The talk eventually died down, and the small gathering of people excited to meet the Detective Prince parted ways. I gave Amamiya a knowing look, and headed toward the bathrooms to tame my hair back to normal.

As I sat back down again, I really couldn’t keep my smile hidden.  
“...I can’t believe you actually did that,” I said, “I suppose I’d better learn to watch what I say around you.”  
Amamiya leaned back in his chair.  
“You looked great,” he said, but I couldn’t gauge how much of that statement was sarcasm.  
“Is that so? Well, that would be thanks to you,” I said, “I didn’t think this would actually work. I suppose… there is no knowing how things may go unless you give it a try, hm?”  
He took a more relaxed position in his chair, and studied my face with intense, grey eyes.  
“I think I’ve learned a valuable lesson. Thank you,” I said to him, and I think I somewhat genuinely meant it. We let the silence sit between us for a moment.  
“Well, now that we do have some more time together, thanks to your quick thinking, I know a place where we won’t be interrupted by people recognizing me. Would you be interested?” I said and stood up.  
“I’ll always be ready for whatever you throw my way,” he said confidently. How ironic, he could of course only say that because he didn’t know the plan Shido and I had cooked up for the Phantom Thieves.  
“Haha, that’s what I like to hear,” I said, and led him towards the jazz club.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A jazzy experience

“This is it. A rather nice place,” I said once we reached the jazz club, “you can rest assured that we’ll be safe here. I’m a regular.”  
“What kind of place is this?” Amamiya asked, eyeing the entrance up and down. The broken down brick walls and rustic demeanor might not have led to it looking like the safest place.  
“It’s a jazz club. You get to hear some great performers here,” I said. A smile grew on his face, and he glanced over at the entrance with a new spark.  
“Now this is my kind of club.”  
“I’m glad you’re so taken with it. Is it safe to assume you’ve visited places like this before?” I asked.  
“I used to live in a pretty small town, no jazz clubs in sight. So this is a first, actually”  
“Did you recently move here?” I asked, I hadn’t actually considered the possibility that he ever lived anywhere else. He fit perfectly well into the city life.  
“I can tell you about it inside. Let’s head in,” he said and gestured for me to take the lead.

The familiar atmosphere and quiet, smooth jazz greeted me as we walked down the stairs and inside. The place had a barely noticeable smell of cinnamon all around. I found us a seat close to the stage so he could get the full experience of being there.  
“Well then, why don’t we get some drinks?” I said. He was still taking in the interior design of the place when I asked.  
“Hm, any recommendations?” he countered.  
“Many. But I’ll get you one of my personal favourites. There aren’t any soft drinks you actively dislike, right?” he shook his head, and I gestured for the waiter that we were ready to order.

Shortly after our drinks arrived, the singer took the stage.  
“...Looks like it’s starting. Let’s sit back and enjoy the show,” I said. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and listened to the music. It was a simpler arrangement than usual, but I found it fit the singer’s voice perfectly. After a minute or two, I took a peek at Amamiya. He enjoyed it too. He wore a relaxed grin, eyes closed, and his head swayed to the beat of the music. Perhaps he felt someone was watching him because he then looked at me then, and not wanting to interrupt the song, we just watched each other for a moment, before both going back to simply focusing on the music surrounding us. 

When the song was over, the singer carefully walked off stage with quiet, careful claps coming from patrons around the club.  
“Whew… how relaxing. I really do like coming here,” I said.  
“This is a great place,” Amamiya concurred.  
“I’m glad you feel that way. Work and obligations take me to quite a few restaurants and cafés, but this place is a little more special to me,” I began, and shifted my body to face Amamiya, “I guess you could call it my go-to place. Do you have anywhere like that?”  
A smile played on his lips.  
“You remember the café with great coffee I told you about?”  
“Oh, of course. You intended to take me there on our next outing.”  
“Yeah, it’s a long story, but it also became my go-to place because I live there.”  
“H-huh? You live in a café?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. I didn’t quite understand it, was he just some bum without a home? The trash of society, incapable of even having anyone be willing to grant him an apartment to stay in?  
“In the attic. Long story short, I had to move to Tokyo and my parents basically had connections with the owner of the café. He said I could stay there. It’s nice. I’ve got a lot of space and an endless supply of coffee and curry,” he said with a laugh, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.  
“Coming to Tokyo on your own and living in a café loft… it’s impressive. Like something out of a story,” I said, “When did you move here?”  
“April,” he said, and my mind wandered.  
“About the same time the Phantom Thieves activities started. As well as more widespread recognition of the psychotic breakdown incidents,” I said. Another test for him. He squinted and formed a smile carefully, but it was obviously fake.  
“I suppose,” he said, sipping on his drink. He didn’t seem to like the direction I took the conversation.  
“I am joking, of course. I wouldn’t accuse you of something so drastic without evidence to suggest otherwise,” I said, but he stayed quiet for a few moments.  
“You haven’t told me much about your living situation, Akechi,” he said.  
“Hm? Ah, well, I live alone myself, but I rarely have the time to cook my own meals,” I said, but wanting to get the conversation back on him I continue, “that reminds me. Do you cook?”  
“I’m proficient enough at cooking, but what you really want to see is my curry skills,” he beamed.  
“That’s impressive. I don’t have much experience myself. Even my attempts in a cooking class were underwhelming. In particular, an attempt to fillet a fish went… poorly,” I said with a sheepish grin.

We chatted for a while about our culinary successes and failures. Amamiya especially was very passionate about how he had perfected the curry and gotten praise from the café owner after a lot of training and work.

“You know, I usually come here when I need some time to think on my own. So chatting with you here is really quite refreshing,” it was true. The change of pace, and for once meeting someone that could hold my interest, it was nice. I would maybe have been able to relax more if it weren’t all for the sake of gaining his trust so I could finally kill him, though.  
“You know, you’re the first person I’ve ever brought here…” the words slip out of my mouth as they come to mind. It was strange. I didn’t need to take him there for the sake of his trust, but I did, “it’s not like I was keeping it from anyone, but… I suppose it goes to show we do have some strange connection.”  
“Thank you,” he said.  
“Huh? No, thank you, like I said it really was quite pleasant to have you he-”  
“Not just because you brought me here. I wanted to thank you for tonight, you’re more honest with me than you’ve been before. I appreciate it,” he said. A strange connection indeed, to notice I’ve been more forthcoming when I barely realized it myself.  
“Of course. Thank you, too.”

We parted ways shortly after that, but I couldn’t help but call him once I got back home. We talked for quite a while more, and oddly enough, it was all small talk. No deep conversation about justice or righteousness. I brought up the subject of us dressing up as each other, he seemed stressed out about the idea. I admired the music we listened to, and he couldn’t agree more. It was just normal conversations, and I noticed by the end of it, that I was smiling. Despite him not being able to see me, I kept up the smile anyway.

After we hung up with each other, I planned ahead for our next outing. I would rather continue lying to him about me, that would make it easier to separate my real self from the one I had to show him to gain his trust. Unfortunately, he seemed to respond better the closer I moved to my real self. Perhaps I could show a snippet of the truth to gain sympathy from him.

That evening, as I fell asleep, he appeared in my dreams. I probably had him circulating my mind so much during the day time that he now also invaded it during the night. 

We were back in the bathroom of the café, and he was standing close to me, just like he was when he was ruffling my hair as before. Now though, after he had dragged his fingers through my hair, they slowly moved their way down my neck, my shoulders, my arms until our hands intertwined. He laid his head against my shoulder, and without thinking, I rested my chin atop his head. It was a comfortable position. His breath tickling my neck, the smell of coffee, and his hands slowly growing warmer from the heat emanating from my own. It all felt realistic. The soothing feeling was a stark contrast to the shiver that ran down my spine when I heard a voice whisper in my ear.  
“You have to do it,” the voice sounded like an amalgamation of Shido’s and my own. My eyes shot open when I heard it, and Amamiya now laid on the floor in front of me, with panicked eyes, trying to crawl away. That’s one of the ways I could tell this really was just a dream, it was clear to me that Amamiya would never let himself look so weak.  
I held a pistol in my left hand. I aimed it, and just as Amamiya called my name, just as I pulled the trigger, I woke up in the familiar darkness of my room.

“How annoying,” I muttered. This would definitely mess with my sleep schedule if I didn’t fall asleep again soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that fish! Also, hey Yoshizawa.

It was only three days after the jazz club before I spotted Amamiya once again. He was right in the middle of Shibuya station square, talking with someone.  
“Huh? Amamiya?” I greeted him with a smile as I approached him. He in turn gave me an acknowledging nod. The woman he was speaking with also turned to face me, I recognized her from somewhere.  
“And you are…” I began, still trying to place where I had seen her before.  
“It’s been quite a while, Akechi-san,” she said, looking overly cheerful.  
“And the same for you… Yoshizawa-san, right?” I vaguely remembered exchanging a few words with her.  
“You know each other?” asked Amamiya. Yoshizawa explained how we met through her father’s TV station. When she looked at Amamiya, her eyes were full of admiration, she gave him her full, unconditional attention. It crossed my mind that she might have feelings for him, it wouldn’t surprise me.  
“I didn’t know you knew her as well, Ren,” I said, putting emphasis on using his first name. His poker face didn’t falter, as if he didn’t care much for the change at all.  
“She’s a friend of mine,” he said.  
“Mhm. He helped me out of a jam before, and now he’s been offering me guidance,” Yoshizawa continued, keeping her voice as cheerful as before. I felt it had to be an act she kept up, whether for Ren or for herself, I wasn’t sure.  
“Helped you out of a jam, eh? I see…” I looked over and Ren was keeping his face still, watching Yoshizawa and myself interact with a hint of fascination.  
“So, what were you two up to?” I asked.  
“Oh, right! I was just about to share some exciting news,” Yoshizawa said, clapping her hands together, jumping up on her toes and turning back towards Ren, “it’s nothing to keep secret, so I may as well spill it now. About that summer competition I mentioned to you before?”  
“Mhm?” Ren said with a gracious smile and a delighted tone. Yoshizawa’s cheerfulness seemed to rub off on him, just a little.  
“I was chosen to be our club representative!” she exclaimed.  
“You did it! Well, congratulations are in order,” he said, smiling, and turned towards me, seemingly waiting for me to congratulate her as well, but Yoshizawa barely even noticed I was there.  
“This only feels like the beginning to me, though,” she said.  
“Isn’t your club’s team considered to be quite prestigious? And you’re their representative? I must say, that’s extremely impressive,” I said, and that’s when she remembered I even existed and looked over.  
“Thank you! I’ll do my best to make everyone proud,” she said, I felt Ren give me an encouraging smile, as if I needed his help to give someone praise.  
“I’ll be cheering you on as well,” I said.  
“And I’ll always be there to back you up,” Ren said, and it wouldn’t be an enormous exaggeration to say that Yoshizawa’s eyes were sparkling.  
“Thank you, Amamiya-Senpai! I’ll hold you to that, you know,” she said. Her over-the-top attitude towards Ren was almost nauseating.   
“Well, Ren, I was hoping I’d have a moment to talk with you again. Unless you’re busy, maybe you could indulge me?” I said. Ren’s eyes darted over to Yoshizawa, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly.  
“Well, I-”  
“Oh, you don’t need to worry over me Amamiya-Senpai. I should start practicing anyway, you two go and have some fun for me,” Yoshizawa interrupted him. Her smile didn’t attain quite the same shine as before, clearly hiding some mild disappointment. Nothing for me to care about.  
“Are you sure? I’m sure you can join us if you want,” he said.  
“No, no, I’m way behind on school stuff anyway. I’d need to leave so early,” she excused herself. Ren and I said our goodbyes to Yoshizawa and walked on.

“Welp, what’s on the agenda for today?” Ren asked.  
“I do believe you said you’d take me to a café with great coffee,” I said.  
“Hmm… I did, didn’t I?” he said, his voice trailing off, “change of plans. I read about a place I’d like to visit, and as soon as I heard about it, I wanted to bring you there with me.”  
“I’m happy to go wherever I can spend time with you,” I said, and I could sense that he tensed up slightly, ”where will you be taking me?”  
“Ever been to the Shinagawa Aquarium?”  
“No, never inside. I’ve heard good things from colleagues who’ve been, though,” I said. There was one particular police officer I had the misfortune of often bumping into, and she would blabber on about the most useless things, including the aquarium. Insisting that I must go there, saying she’d get me tickets for it someday, despite my continued opposition to it.

The train to Shinagawa was almost completely full, and we kept bumping into each other as we were tightly packed inside the train. At one point I almost lost my balance during a train stop, but Ren gave me some stability. Somehow, it seemed to only get more jam packed the closer we got to our station. I heard Ren say something, but it was difficult to make out what with the sound of the train and the people talking around us. I leaned in close to his ear.  
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” I said, still quiet, hoping he’d hear me thanks to the close proximity. He swallowed audibly.  
“Just that, uhm, that it’ll be difficult to get out when we reach our stop,” he said. His deep voice tickled my ear, sending a shiver down my spine and arms. I absentmindedly nodded my head as a response, trying to take a step back. I felt I needed some space, but none was to be found there. It was growing warm, but I came to the conclusion that it was only natural with all those people in such a small space. Ren and I continued standing pressed up against each other for just another couple of minutes until the subway announcer spoke up.  
“Shinagawa. Next stop, Shinagawa.”

Shinagawa was still relatively close to central Tokyo, so to call the air there fresh would be a lie, but it felt like pure salvation compared to the air in the small confinement we spent the last 12 minutes in. I took deep breaths once outside, and Ren stretched his legs and his back.

As we took our first couple of steps inside the aquarium, the blue light illuminated everything and created an otherworldly atmosphere, and Ren kept a disinterested look on his face while his eyes darted around everywhere. It was almost amusing to watch.  
“It’s been a while since I’ve come to a place like this,” I said, “thank you for taking me along.”  
“It’s a nice place,” he said with pupils fixed on a school of fish swimming by.  
“This suits you, the aquarium, I mean. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it when you saw it for real,” I said, he turned to face me and opened his mouth to say something, before his attention was grabbed yet again and he looked over behind me. He smiled and waved his hand. Must be someone else he knows. I looked over, and it was a woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She had a camera around her neck, and wore bright red lipstick, and a pair of large shades on her head. She showed off a big smile and put her whole body into her waving. She hurried over towards us.  
“I thought I recognized those glasses! Look who it is!” she said, gesticulating towards Ren.  
“You seem to be quite popular today,” I said, the woman turned to me.  
“And we even got the second Detective Prince here too,-” she began before stopping herself, her eyes going wide, “w-wait, what?!”  
Her hands went over her mouth, she was sure to cause a scene if she continued. Ren was quick to step forward and calm her down, putting a finger over his lips.  
“Keep it quiet, please…” he hushed.  
“Oh… sorry. B-but that’s not important! Why are you with Akechi-kun?” she asked, her eyes darting between us before growing wide again, “ooh…”  
“He invited me out. We’re fairly close, after all,” I butted in. If her eyes got any wider, they’d surely pop out.  
“Oh, my. I wouldn’t have interrupted if I knew this was a date! Sorry, I’ll leave you to it,” she said and turned to walk away.   
“It’s nothing like that,” Ren said, his voice just marginally louder than usual.  
“Relax, I won’t write anything about this, I’m not gonna butt into some high school kids private lives,” she said, and waved her hands in front of her face.  
“No, just… I’m not... that doesn’t matter.” Ren was growing flustered. He put his head in his hand for a second before coming back to his usual stoic self.  
“This isn’t a date,” he said. The woman had an understanding smile and lightly took hold of his arm, taking a step closer to him.  
“It’s okay, I’ve seen all kinds over at Crossroads, you must have too while working there, it’s all good,” she said and then immediately went back to her over-the-top grin and laughed haughtily, playfully elbowing him in the ribs, “and don’t think I don’t remember what you and Lala-Chan talk about just cause i have a drink or two!”  
Crossroads… I recognized the name but couldn’t quite place it. Either way, Ren’s face was growing red, he would definitely have liked a change in subject.  
“And you are, huh…?” I asked. Her demeanor changed to a neutral one.  
“Oh, uh… don’t mind me. I’m just a reporter,” she said, “Amamiya here helps me with my articles sometimes.”  
“Oh, that’s quite impressive,” I said, turning to Ren, he wasn’t looking back at me, just doing a quick nod.  
“I thought it would be boring reporting on a bunch of fish, but I got a nice surprise running into you two,” she said, and turned on her heel, “well, see ya next time I need info!”

I gave Ren a minute to calm down before breaking the silence.  
“You have some friends in the media, I see.”  
“Friend is… not the right word,” he said exasperated, massaging the bridge of his nose.  
“And if I heard right, you work at Crossroads? That’s a pretty famous gay bar in Shinjuku,” I said. His eyes seemed tired when they shifted from me over to the aquariums again.  
“It’s nothing bad. I don’t serve any alcohol, pretty much only help with the dishes and talking with some of the patrons,” he answered.  
“I suppose my curiosity stems from why you chose to work specifically at that bar, out of all the famous bars in Shinjuku,” I said. He looked more and more uncomfortable by the minute, balling his fists in his pockets and avoiding eye contact.  
“How about these fish, huh?” he said. I hadn’t considered his sexuality or attraction until now, but that reporter and his own reaction to it made the situation clear to me. I considered the possibility of him having feelings for me, since that would definitely be in my best interest, but it would need further investigation.  
“I’m sorry if I’m prying. You truly are interesting,” I said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren upset, Lala-chan the best

We continued walking through the aquarium, admiring the fishes, but Ren was more tense than usual, and the familiar, comfortable quietness between us was replaced by a suffocating silence. Ren kept himself stoic, like nothing had happened that bothered him. I kept up my princely act as well.

After a while we were about to walk right past some pufferfish, but I was quick in my attempt to lighten the mood.  
“How odd. Ren, have you seen?” I asked, pointing towards one of the uglier pufferfish in the aquarium.  
“Hm?” he acknowledged, looking over.  
“This one. I almost mistook you for it,” I said with a mocking tone, wearing a friendly smile. A smile crept up on him as well, but it was a bit more mischievous than my own.   
“I accidentally started a conversation with one of the fishes earlier, thinking it was you. Though, when it never came up with a snarky remark, I realized I had the wrong person,” he said. I laughed slightly.  
“Snarky remark? Is that really how you see me?” I asked.  
“Well, you’re difficult to pin down. You act rather differently with me than you do to other people. I imagine you as a rather snarky person though,” he said, watching his pufferfish counterpart as it swam off.  
“I hadn’t noticed I acted differently around you,” I said.  
“Maybe you act the same to everyone, but you have this tone in your voice when you talk to people. Like you have a problem with them,” he said. He, of course, hit the nail on the head. I had a problem with everyone, the whole world, really. Not that it bothered me. I concluded that I should begin talking sweeter to hide the bitter tone in my voice better.

The silence between us felt more natural again. I took a step closer, now standing right next to him. The back of my hand caressed his, inviting him to take it. He stood still, casting a quick glance my way before an agitated look flashed his features, and he returned his stoic expression back to the fishes.  
“Sorry, I thought you’d want-” I began, but he interrupted me.  
“Don’t make fun of me,” he said, and he looked straight into my eyes. It was like he was looking at something deeper than just my irises, looking at everything inside me, on who I was. His will was unwavering, and hid a deep shame covering his true intentions.  
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said carefully. I shouldn’t have approached this so carelessly. He heaved a deep sigh.  
“I know.”  
“... Does anyone else know about this?” I asked. He stayed quiet, “I want to spend more time with you, so-”  
“Akechi,” he said, “please, don’t try this. I don’t think this is what you want.”

I couldn’t argue that. He read me better than I could read him, and I didn’t really have any personal interest in pursuing anything romantic with him. I felt that my little stunt might only have hindered my plan from coming to fruition. Despite this, we went about the rest of the aquarium as usual, and we parted ways, promising to see each other again soon.

I didn’t hear from him for a while, and I didn’t want to contact him until I came up with a plan of action.

As time passed, the Phantom Thieves dealt with Medjed. They did even better than I was expecting them to, and their popularity skyrocketed. My own image was thrown under the bus, but I knew it would only be temporary. I occasionally saw Ren, sometimes along with his friends, and discussed with him briefly about the Phantom Thieves during my train transits, and he kept his cool every time. Sae Niijima was growing more agitated by the day as well. This all only served to remind me of my time crunch, and how I would quickly need to patch things up between Ren and I for the plan to work. 

That’s what led me to this next moment. It had been weeks since my last outing with Ren, and now I stood outside Crossroads. I couldn’t risk letting people see the Detective Prince attend a bar, so I used the glasses Ren gave me, messed up my hair, and wore some old, ill-fitting clothes to draw off suspicion. I walked inside, since it was the middle of the week there weren’t too many people there. The smell of alcohol still hit me, and the colourful lights hanging from both ceiling and walls didn’t help the nausea of entering the place. I spotted the reporter, she was sitting right by the bar, speaking gleefully with the drag queen barmaid who had an exasperated look. That reporter must have had that effect on everyone, huh? I walked up behind her.  
“Excuse me?” I said in a happy tone.  
“Huh? Whaddya want I’m in the middle of-” she started before turning around and recognizing me. I smiled, placing my finger over my lips.  
“Sorry, I would appreciate it if you didn’t write about this either. I wanted to talk with someone about Ren,” I said. The drag queen kept a suspicious eye on me the entire time.  
“You a friend of his?” the drag queen asked.  
“Lala-chan! This is the boy I told you about! Akechi-kun!” the reporter almost jumped in her chair, just barely whispering the last part.  
“Oh, are you Lala-chan? It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.  
“You’re supposed to shake it with your right hand, you know,” she said, still accepting the shake. Her hands were much larger than my own.  
“Soo, trouble in paradise already, huh?” the reporter asked me, wiggling an eyebrow and elbowing my arm.  
“Well, I haven’t spoken to him in awhile. He took some distance from me after the aquarium,” I said.  
“He hasn’t been here much either. He’s a busy boy, always running around helping all kinds of folks,” Lala-chan said.  
“Well, I wanted to speak with you, Lala-chan. It sounds like he has confided in you about some things? I want to come closer to him,” I said.  
“No chance. Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean I’ll break the trust Amamiya put in me,” she explained, a frown growing on her face.  
“You’re such a bore Lala-chan! He’s just here for some love advice,” the reporter sighed loudly and gesticulated dramatically.  
“Oh, honey. In that case you’ve come to the wrong person,” Lala-chan sighed, shaking her head, “I’ll give you a tip though. Amamiya-kun isn’t very likely to accept any advances from anyone.”  
“How come?” I ask.  
“Who knows? I think he feels bad about it all, but he says he’s too busy for any relationships.”  
“He’s so tense all the time, y’know. I’d appreciate ya if you helped him chill out more,” the reporter threw her arm around me and laughed, but the stank of whiskey was a bit much for me, so I slowly moved out of her embrace.

I left shortly after. Lala-chan didn’t want to talk about Ren when he wasn’t around, and the reporter had nothing but nonsense to say. I could simply try and restore my friendship with Ren, but there was a risk of it going slow, and maybe he wouldn’t trust me enough to join the Thieves when it was time for me to do so. Considering my other option, I could play a high-risk high-rewards game. I could push my luck by trying to persuade Ren that I wanted desperately to be with him, which would either lead to him accepting and spending even more time with me, or it could lead to him rejecting and possibly completely stopping all contact with me.

I was tremendously confident in my charismatic charm, though.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter with 100% coffee smell

Sae-san had recommended a café. She first only went there to practically harass the owner of the small place, but she must have taken a liking to it. The owner was the new guardian of Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter, so Sae must have hoped she could get more leads regarding cognitive psience and the psychotic breakdown incidents through it, I had of course already made sure no evidence was left behind. There was some difficulty in imagining the owner appreciating her patronage, or doing anything other than spit in her coffee. But she claimed it was the best Tokyo had to offer, unbeatable. I took a train to Yongen-Jaya, and had a short walk to the address she sent me. It was a beat-down neighbourhood, and nothing special about it. There was an interesting-looking bathhouse that I might have imagined trying out sometime, though.

Bells clanged as I opened the door to enter the café. The smell inside was familiar, definitely coffee, but different from other coffee shops I had been to. It smelled like Ren.

The first thing that catched my eye when I entered was the Sayuri hanging on the wall. It was interesting, the rest of the café didn’t look so expensive as to warrant such a highly-prized, albeit fake, painting. Upon a second glance I noticed the woman in the picture was holding a child, and I didn’t quite understand how it could have happened, but that painting was the genuine Sayuri. It only occupied my mind for a second, because as my eyes scanned the rest of the café, I saw Ren standing behind the counter, watching me, mouth slightly agape. Oh, if he was there…

“Hello,” I said happily. An older man stood behind the counter as well, the owner that Sae-san had been harassing, Sojiro Sakura. A small figure was standing, almost hiding, behind Ren. When she occasionally peeked her head out to look at me, I recognized her, Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter. It was a truly interesting fate for those two to become acquaintances.  
“Oh… welcome,” said Sakura, his voice sounded like he carried even more years of wisdom than his face showed.  
“So this was the café you stayed at?” I said, looking over at Ren.  
“Huh? You two know each other?” Sakura asked, “wait, aren’t you…?”  
“I’m Akechi,” I said. Ren continued watching me, sometimes casting a reaffirming glance towards the girl behind him.  
“Oh yeah, the one on TV and stuff. So what brings you here, Mr. Detective?” Sakura didn’t strike me as the type of person to pay much attention to the TV, or what happened on it, which I could appreciate after all the recent backlash against me.  
I took a look around the place, this is where Ren lived. I saw the stairs in the corner, probably leading up to his room. The place was well taken care of and clean, and the assortment of coffee behind the trio was nothing to laugh at.  
“This place is more than I imagined it to be. The atmosphere is wonderful,” I said. Some of the interior design reminded me of the comfort of the jazz club.  
“No wonder Sae-san recommended it so strongly to me.”  
Sakura grimaced, his wrinkles only accentuating the disdain he must have felt for Sae.  
“I already told her everything I know. There’s nothing more I got for you people,” he said.  
“Oh no, that’s not my intention. I just came to enjoy some coffee,” I said, and Sakura’s face softened a fraction, “it appears I’m lucky enough to get to see a friend as well.”  
I looked over towards Ren, giving him a meaningful look.  
“Welp, what’ll it be detective? I promised you the best coffee, right? So it’s time for me to deliver,” he smiled, but it looked just a bit forced.  
“Whatever you recommend,” I said.  
“Coming right up,” Ren said, he just took a step closer to the coffee machine, careful to not leave the girl behind him.

She followed his every step as he made the coffee, and as he placed it in front of me.  
“It seems I’m unwelcome no matter where I go,” I said.  
“So it’s not just here?” Ren asked, I could hear he held back some bite in his words, clearly not ready to talk to me again quite yet.  
“Did I bother you? My apologies,” I said, eyes downcast, “this is all reminding me of when I was younger. Because of my scumbag of a father, my mother passed away and I was passed around from foster home to foster home. But… I do quite well for myself these days.”  
I gave a sad smile, this was completely true, but my only real intention of bringing it up was to gain sympathy points. Ren kept his eyes fixed on me, stoic. The girl appeared moved by what I said, I figured she could probably relate to it. From the corner of my eye, I saw the TV talking about the Phantom Thieves’ latest victory.  
“Ah yes. Medjed,” I said, “...to think they’d be taken down by another hacker.”  
The girl behind Ren started fiddling with her top, keeping her eyes on the floor.  
“I’m not sure whether Medjed was defeated by the Phantom Thieves themselves or an avid supporter…” I said, taking a sip of the coffee in front of me. Still a bit too hot to drink, but I could make out the rich taste.  
“You think there’s a chance the Phantom Thieves has a hacker among them?” Ren asked.  
“We haven’t seen any evidence suggesting that before, but it might be a recent member they picked up because of the dire situation,” I pondered. I turned towards the girl behind him. She had a similar habit of hiding her eyes behind her bangs and glasses, just like Ren, but her source of these habits was definitely anxiety. How pitiful.  
“Um, you’re… Futaba-chan, right? Sae-san told me about you,” I said, feigning ignorance as if I had any doubt in my mind who she was, “many kids your age seem to be fans of the Phantom Thieves. Do you like them too?”  
She pouted her lips and furrowed her brows.  
“What’s the matter?” I asked.  
“...You are popular too, Ace Detective Akechi,” she said, giving me a glare, an obvious facade for a very nervous little girl. I decided to ignore the tone of her voice.  
“Thank you. Although I’d rather not be compared to people like the Phantom Thieves, if at all possible.”

I continued sipping on the coffee, it had cooled off enough for it to be an enjoyable drink.  
“Mm, this is delicious. You get to drink this everyday? I’m incredibly jealous,” I admired, practically kissing the ground that Ren walked on just to gain his favour. “I would never have thought you’d be boarding at this café… we seem to share some kind of bond.”  
Ren let out a small sigh, leaning down with both his elbows on the counter.  
“I agree,” he said, lacking the usual conviction he tended to have in his statements. I chuckled slightly.  
“Thank you.”  
We shared eye contact for a moment, me almost forgetting Futaba was even there.  
“I believe fate brings people together. It’s strange, but talking to you is…” I paused, moved my hand closer to his, caressed his fist with one of my fingers, “...thought provoking.”  
Ren took a quick breath, moving his hand away just slightly. Futaba probably didn’t even notice the interaction.  
“I did hope I’d get to talk with you again soon,” I said. His eyes moved over to Futaba, then back to me.  
“I have plans for the next couple of days, how about tuesday evening?” he asked, “you can come over.”  
I couldn’t hold back a grin.  
“Well… I think I found my go-to café,” I said, and continued enjoying the coffee.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where they dance and kind of can't decide which one is the top

Café LeBlanc’s lights were out, and the sign was turned to “closed”, I swallowed thickly and knocked on the door. This was the break-or-make moment for my entire plan to take down Shido, and possibly my biggest gamble yet. I saw Ren scurry down the stairs far off in the café, and hurry over to the door. Familiar bells rang as he opened it, sounding just the same as the last time I was here, three days ago.  
“Thank you,” I said as he guided me in through the door. A black cat with white features jumped up on the café counter. Even after I had walked inside, Ren held the door open for the cat to exit through, and it did without protest.  
“I didn’t know you had pets,” I said, but I had seen him carrying something furry in his bag the couple of times I had met him at the train station, I did wonder what it was, the cat would match it's colour, but... It was a bit too strange to believe. If it was anyone but him, at least.  
“Just the one,” Ren replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
“I see, it must feel quite fulfilling to have an animal around to take care of,” I smiled, “shall we head to your room?”  
“Mhm.”

I walked behind Ren as he headed deeper into the small coffee shop and up the stairs. His room was definitely big, but that’s where it’s positives stopped. Colourless and old-looking, everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, and very few personal belongings to even indicate that this was his place. He had some memorabilia on the right side of the room, but it was few and far in-between. One of these was a large poster of Risette hanging on the wall, the vibrant blue of it being the only splash of colour in the room.  
“I didn’t take you for a Risette fan,” I said, nodding towards the object of interest.  
“I don’t know much about her myself; a friend gave it to me,” he said, a nostalgic smile growing on his face. I let the silence sit between us for a moment, and he looked in my direction.  
“That reminds me, I wanted you to hear this…” he said, grabbing his phone from his pocket. He hastily tapped away on it, then took a step closer for me to listen. Out of it’s speakers came a tune I didn’t recognize, it was a jazz song though. When the lyrics started, I immediately recognized the voice. It was the same one who sang when we were at the jazz club together.  
“It’s nothing compared to hearing it live, but I’ve listened to and discovered some interesting artists since we went out,” he said.  
“I have to commend your taste in music,” I said, slightly swinging along to the beat. Ren closed his eyes, bobbing his head. As I watched him, an idea grew in my mind, I carefully took the phone away from Ren. He opened his eyes but let it happen, his irises following my every movement. I placed the phone on the bookshelf nearby, and with my now free left hand, I grabbed his right one. I placed my other hand on his waist, and swayed my body, he reluctantly swung along with me, placing his free hand on my shoulder. His gaze focused on the walls, the floor, anywhere but at me, I thought I could make out a hint of red across his cheeks as well.

I suppose it was the adrenaline and insecurity of not knowing whether this was working, but I felt my heart beat faster and my face growing warmer. I moved my right hand to the small of his back, inching us even closer together. Ren sighed, breaking away from the dance.  
“You’re not following the beat. I’ll lead,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and taking my hand. What a stupid mistake, being so focused on him I even forgot to acknowledge the music. Ren’s cold hands were a blessing as the warmth inside me kept growing stronger and stronger with each of his sways.

Each note flowing around his seemed to give Ren more courage, moving us closer together by the minute. After a while, we weren’t face-to-face anymore, but our cheeks were lightly touching, and our bodies would have been pressed against each other if Ren would just put a little more pressure against me. I tried to stir forward to move up closer to him, but he moved away just slightly every time. 

Songs ended and new ones began, at least 5 different tracks played before I dared to speak up again.  
“If you would like, we could do more than just this,” I whispered, already being right next to his ear. He stayed quiet, I felt he lowered his head slightly. I tightened the arm I had around his shoulders, bringing him closer.  
“I want you,” I whispered, with more urgency this time. He lost the rhythm of the song, having to find it again, and I could feel his hands clench instinctively in my hand and against my back, before relaxing again. I didn’t think I had ever felt so warm when the air around me was so cool.  
“I don’t think-” his voice sounded strained, and he swallowed thickly, “I don’t think we would be good together.”  
We moved along to the dance, and another song faded out, we stood still for a moment, waiting for the next one.  
“Why’s that?” I said, I bucked my hips against his, just lightly, but it was enough to get a reaction out of him. He held back a sound, almost a soft growl, and my body’s nerve-endings went on high-alert as soon as I heard that. My own breath became jagged for but a moment. The next smooth jazz started up again, a complicated, but slow, arrangement.  
“You’re the Detective Prince. This wouldn’t be a good look on you,” he said, swaying along with the new beat. It was an excuse on his part, I knew that, because it was clear to me that he didn’t want to tell anyone else about it either of we became any more friendly than this.

I stopped dancing, Ren followed suit to see if something was wrong. He took a step back to look at my face, and I snaked my arms out of his grasp. I brought them up the button-down shirt he wore over his t-shirt, grabbed it, and pulled him into a kiss. I had kissed people before, when I was fourteen, I had the idea that a girlfriend would satiate my boredom and pain. I was wrong about that, it was dull, and meaningless. This, though? After Ren’s initial surprise, he relaxed, leaned into me, and hugged me as we kissed. The feeling of accomplishment and gratitude that this was working out was beyond compare. 

I wasn’t the only one with surprises, because I felt Ren’s tongue asking for entrance against my lips, and I could do nothing but oblige. The smell of coffee around him was nothing compared to the taste of it. I felt him pull me forward, I moved with him until he pushed me slightly, I broke away from the kiss as I fell on his bed, and he was quick to get on top of me. But he didn’t kiss me, he simply watched me through half-lidded eyes as I laid before him. Since he didn’t move to touch me anymore, I grabbed him and urged him down on the mattress, I spun around, putting myself on top, and I leaned down and kissed him with all the passion I could muster. I moved my hands through his hair, his down his arms, over his chest, whatever I could reach, and he was holding me still by the waist. He smiled through the kiss, and I wondered absentmindedly if he had ever been with anyone like this before. The idea frustrated me slightly, and I was swift with taking off his button-down shirt. I felt him hesitate for a moment before moving to let me do so, after that I moved on to lifting his t-shirt off and-  
“H-hey,” he said, putting a hand between us. I noticed then how my breath was all over the place, and my heart was beating so hard I felt the pulse throughout my entire body. He pulled down his t-shirt so it covered his whole torso again, I only got a glimpse of his lower belly, but it was enough to once again get me riled up. I controlled myself and veered away from Ren for a moment to collect my thoughts.  
“S-sorry, too much?” I asked. His face still red, hair even more tousled than usual, I wondered if I looked the same.  
“For a first time, a bit,” he laughed through his heavy breathing. I moved out of the way for him to stand up, and he took his phone to turn off the music, which I had completely forgotten about at that point. I dragged my hand through my hair and over my face, I needed to get a grip.

“Where do we stand now?” I asked, needing confirmation on my success. We had walked back down to the café, Ren promising to make me some coffee.  
“Hm?” he mumbled absentmindedly while rummaging through the different brands of coffee beans on the shelves.  
“Well, regarding what we just did. I’d say that we have moved past friendship,” I said. Ren sported a mischievous smile.  
“Not friends. Rivals,” he corrected. I chuckled; he didn’t have any idea about the extent of it.  
“Is that what this feeling is?” and as I asked that, he grabbed the coffee brand, and moved over to me again. He grabbed my chin with his free hand and leaned in close, no more than two inches from our lips meeting again, his breath hitting my skin, taunting me.  
“Let’s do this again sometime,” he purred, and pecked my lips before returning to making coffee. I felt completely powerless against his advances, like my whole form became a puddle in his hands. I rubbed my hands over my face once again.

Get a grip. Get a grip. Get a grip.

Ren sported the same apron he usually wore when he worked there. He looked surprisingly good in it, but I concluded that maybe my hormones where a bit too wild to tell what was and wasn’t attractive at that moment.   
“Did you have dinner? Are you hungry?” Ren asked.  
“Oh, I suppose I didn’t have dinner yet, no. I’ll buy something on the way back home,” I replied. Ren’s eyes shone and he had a giddy, child-like wonder about him as he ran over towards the refrigerator.  
“Ah, yes! No worries, I’ll make you curry. You’re going to love it,” he said and grabbed a bunch of ingredients.  
“Do you require my assistance?” I asked. He waved his hands as he looked through the drawers for a knife.  
“You’re going to ruin it,” he said.  
“Oh… how rude,” I chuckled.  
“It’s okay. Even if you can’t make curry, you have a killer boyfriend that can,” he said and immediately stopped in his movements.  
“And, well, boyfriend is… maybe not the right word,” he hesitated.  
“I think it suits us,” I said, encouraging him to just accept me already.   
“Hm…” he returned his focus to cutting up carrots for the curry, “rival is a good fit too, though.”

I drank the coffee as I waited for Ren to finish the curry, it was a more acidic blend that day, but just as good as last time. It was obvious they invested their money on high-quality products above all else. And once the curry came, I was just as blown away by that.  
“All prepared by master chef, Ren Amamiya,” he bowed as he presented me the plate, and sat down next to me to have his own meal.  
“I am quite impressed. You are quite multi-talented,” I said.  
“It’s all thanks to the people around me, though. I couldn’t do any of this before Sojiro whipped me into a responsibility-taking employee,” he laughed. “Just like I learn music, pool and investigation skills from you, or Yoshizawa teaching my gymnastics, I have a lot of people around me with unique knowledge or abilities that help me grow.”  
I let his words sit with me for a moment, what absolute garbage he had told himself to believe. The only way for him to have learned his skills or have become stronger is through himself, not by anyone else.  
“You must have a lot of good people around you,” I said. His eyes shifted towards me, and he seemed a bit sad.  
“I hope I do.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Akechi straight up just has very little to do while waiting for Ren to come back

I took heavy steps into my apartment after returning home from LeBlanc, my whole body almost shaking. I needed something, but I didn’t know what, my mood had been spoiled, and everything felt frustrating. I had never seen myself as an irrational, hormone-driven teenager, but clearly that had changed since the last time I did this at fourteen.

“Damn it”, I mumbled, and forced myself to continue inward, making my way to change into my pyjamas. It was irrelevant, irrational and moronic to let these thoughts linger when I had more important things going on. How Ren would view me was a problem for tomorrow, and oddly enough, I couldn’t even consider that. Everything in my mind was just taken up by the way he felt, and how he felt me.

The sound of the small growl he made… God.

A shiver travelled down my spine, and I shook away the feeling. Warmth began taking over my body again, and I tried to hold back a smile. That growl, barely even there, held back, was already driving me insane.  
“Control your own damn body, moron,” I muttered to myself. 

I laid down on my bed and brought up my phone. I had notifications from various news outlets, some of them being articles criticizing me. My anger and frustration with the Phantom Thieves grew with each article and self-righteous internet celebrity slandering me. It helped bring back my focus on what I was doing with Ren. He was nothing more than a ploy, a steppingstone for my plan to destroy Shido.

Yes, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was within my grasp, and that was all there was to it. I just needed to keep that in the forefront of my mind next time.

I used to let a jazz playlist go on my phone as I fell asleep, but at that point I worried it would only lead my mind to the dance with Ren, so I laid in the quiet darkness, waiting for sleep to overtake me.

…  
I never reached a deep sleep that night.

As summer break ended and school began, I felt more conscious than ever of the disinterest I had in my fellow peers. They were all part of the ignorant masses that simply followed, not as if any of them had the drive to lead to begin with. But it was exhausting seeing sheep waltzing about their lives every day. I messaged Ren about hanging out sometime during the week, but his school trip was coming up. They were going to Hawaii, and he was too busy to meet me any time before then. I considered taking some time out of my sleeping schedule and offer us meeting then, but before suggesting it I realized Ren wouldn’t want that. He wanted to take things slow, and me coming over in the middle of the night might have carried an innuendo.

That was my focus. What would Ren want from me? What were his expectations?

That wouldn’t matter until he came back to Japan, though. With the leader, and most of the Phantom Thieves, out of the country, it would be a good time to act out the plan. I decided on a meeting with Shido just a couple of days before Shujin’s school trip.

“Come in,” he said as I waited for his answer outside his office. I took a deep breath, a familiar tradition every time I met with Shido, something to calm down my utter rage. My body crawled every time I entered his office, it truly was disgusting how well he had made it. A lot of it was of course thanks to me, all for the sake of completely crushing him into the ground, but before then, all his power and possessions were an eyesore.  
“Shido-san, I thought it best to discuss our plan of attack,” I said. He eyed me up and down.  
“You’ve kept me waiting. This ruse must be done by election season, can I trust you to carry out what needs to be done?” he hissed.  
“Of course. I only needed the leader of the Phantom Thieves to put his trust in me. Simple enough, you do know my way with words, after all,” I said, smiling. Shido hummed to himself and turned towards the windows looking over the city.  
“Okumura has spoken about trying his hand in the political world,” Shido said.  
“So, he will be the Thieves’ next target, then?”  
“Yes. I’ll make sure word of his actions spread to the public; media will slander him for his actions. Best case scenario, the outrage over him will even cause riots, forcing the Phantom Thieves to act,” Shido continued.  
“It is a great plan, Mr. Future Prime Minister,” I said, holding back my urge to vomit at the thought of it. Shido chuckled triumphantly.  
“Keep an eye on Okumura’s palace in wait of the thieves,” he said.  
“Of course.”

During my wait for Ren’s return from Hawaii, I returned to my everyday student life activities. School work was simple, nothing I couldn’t already do at least three years beforehand, but it was relaxing to have some more time for myself. I visited the jazz club a couple of times, I read a book, and I declined some of the interviews I knew were just going to be used to turn people against me. It was during this week I took my driver’s license as well. A bit later than I might have hoped, but as I had been busy with everything, there was little I could have done about that. For once, I also had the opportunity to stay mostly by myself. I only needed to attend school and occasionally help Sae with her workload, but for the most part, I was in solitude. It was a blessing; the princely persona grew tiresome after some time.

But I had the chance to take out some frustrations.

Shido had sent word about the failings of Kobayakawa, the principal of Shujin Academy. His performance had been waning, and he failed to identify any remaining Phantom Thieves. That work would instead fall upon me. But, of course, a cog in the machine not working would stop the whole system. Kobayakawa would need to disappear.

I stood before his shadow in the metaverse, commanding Loki to tear it apart, limb from limb. I screamed and mocked his pitiful self, was it thinking it could go against my plans? Pathetic. His shadow begged for its life. I could not allow that mercy, his real-world self already on the way to the police to rat out Shido. I had his shadow on its knees in front of me, and I pointed my gun right towards its head.

It was over. Another job done, nothing to reflect over. I headed home, and continued reading my book.

…

As I exited the shower one evening, nearing the end of the week, I noticed an unread notification on my phone. It was Ren. I dropped whatever plans I had of drying off and styling my hair, this was a priority.

“I’ll be back in Tokyo tomorrow, wanna meet up sometime soon?”

I considered my options, what he would want to hear? What would the perfect boyfriend write?

“I can pick you up at the airport, if you’d like. I look forward to seeing you again.”

Yes, that would work. I sent the message, my eyes not leaving the screen as I waited for his response. He started writing something, then erased it, then wrote again, and erased… damn, just spill it out already.

“Sounds great. Around 5:45 pm”

I replied with a confirmation, then returned my attention to putting on pyjamas and brushing my hair. I couldn’t quite place why, but I felt light at the thought of seeing Ren again. Perhaps the knowledge of my plan moving along. Or… was it that my body was acting up again? I stayed focused, ignored the thought of Ren and kept my train of thought on the future where Shido would be dead by my feet.

All that mattered was the end result.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ya like jazz? Cause these two will judge the hell out of your personal music taste

I leaned against the car, waiting by the parking lot next to the airport anxiously looking around for Ren. He said he would call me when he closed in, and I was already there a bit early, but I didn’t want to risk running late. I didn’t know how much value Ren put in punctuality, but I assumed he would appreciate it at least. I took whatever points I could gain with him. My phone buzzed. Ren’s name showed up on my screen.

“Hello there, Akechi speaking,” I answered happily.  
“Amamiya speaking. I’m on my way, where will we meet up?”  
“You can head towards the parking lot, I’m already here,” I said. I explained exactly where in the big area I had the car so he could find me, and he promised he’d hurry.

It only took a couple of minutes before I saw him, he was walking with his Phantom Thieves friends, Ann Takamaki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Makoto Niijima. Sakamoto moved in to give Ren a side hug, they all exchanged a few words, and then Ren waved goodbye to them before the three of them got into their own car. They were far away, I could barely make out what they were doing, so they thankfully didn’t notice me easily either. I could imagine Ren being questioned about why he’d get a ride from me, better to avoid that. Ren looked around and I raised my arm, signalling my location. He hurried over once he saw me, and he looked like he had gotten just a little bit of a tan during his stay in Hawaii.

“Good to see you again,” I said while moving to open the car trunk for Ren.  
“Aloha,” he said with a big grin and bags under his eyes, waving his hand in a typical surfer-like manner. I chuckled.  
“You must have had fun,” I said and helped him lift the bag into the car.  
“It was. Wish you could have been there too, the sunset our last night there was wonderful to see,” he said. I doubt I would have enjoyed something like a sunset, they’re already there for me to see every day, and in the end, not that different from one place to the next.  
“I wish I could have joined you, as well,” I said. I sat down in the car, and Ren entered the passenger’s side.  
“I didn’t know you could drive,” he said, looking around the car.  
“I got my license just the other day, actually. I haven’t had the chance to get a car yet, though. I’m renting this one,” I explained. Ren’s eyes darted over to me.  
“You rented a car just to pick me up?”  
“I was quite excited to see you again,” I lied. It was for his sake, but only for him to like me more. He leaned back in his seat, just looking out through the windows.  
“Sorry if I’m not too fun to hang with right now though, I’m exhausted,” he said.  
“No worries. Your company is more than enough,” I reassured.

I drove us back towards central Tokyo, but lo and behold, Ren fell asleep in the passenger seat. I continued driving around town, not wanting to wake him up, but after almost an hour I parked the car, deciding that the gas cost would be steeper than I would have liked otherwise. But as soon as I parked the car, Ren stirred and blinked open his eyes.  
“Hm?” he murmured.  
“I didn’t mean to wake you, my apologies,” I said. He looked around; we were at some parking lot of a small mall outside Tokyo that probably closed shortly before we got there.  
“Didn’t mean to fall asleep…” his words were mumbled and difficult to even make out. He rubbed his eyes and looked over towards me, sleep still evident in his eyes.  
“You’re really handsome,” he said, and stretched out his back, arms and legs as much as he could in the car’s limited space.  
“Haha, I could say the same thing about you,” I said, laying on the patented princely charm in my words.  
“Hmm…” was all he said as he shifted around in his seat. He opened his eyes, watching out through the window.  
“The sunset is nice here too,” he said. I followed his eyes out towards the sky. The clouds had gained a pink tint, contrasting against the baby blue sky behind it, the sun just barely still visible, casting the day’s last few golden rays over Tokyo.  
“Beautiful,” I said, trying to sound sincere, but Ren immediately caught the sarcasm I was trying to hold back. He turned towards me and took hold of my hand, bringing it to his lips and planting a chaste kiss.  
“You don’t need to say that,” he said. I stayed quiet, watching him play with my hand and fingers as he watched the sunset. His fingers moved around my own, like a dance, sometimes stopping to entwine, and then moving on to the next. The sky’s colours hit his face, his eyes reflected it perfectly, creating the illusion that the world rested behind those glasses of his.  
“You’re intriguing,” I said. His focus didn’t leave the sunset in front of him.  
“I could say the same thing about you,” he tossed my words back at me, and smiled. Intriguing indeed, I doubted I would ever truly understand what was going on in his mind. One moment we are so alike, our personalities being a perfect reflection of one another, and the next moment he’s impressed by colourful clouds.

“Are you busy? Perhaps I could visit your place,” Ren said once the sun subsided, his eyes back to their usual intense glare.  
“Oh, hum… yes, of course. You can come over whenever,” I said. I wasn’t prepared to have him there; I wouldn’t be able to give him a good dinner and I hadn’t planned how to continue our relationship yet. I was certain he heard the uncertainty in my voice but chose to ignore it.  
“Fantastic,” he said, releasing my hand to let me grab the wheel and drive. He started tapping away on his phone with both his free hands.  
“Just gonna message someone I’ll come home a little later than planned,” he said.

I drove to my place while in my head I was going through a game plan. Was I supposed to make a move? Let him take the lead? Just talk? He sat, stoic, having no idea of the chaotic turmoil that was forming in my mind during every minute of the drive there. While parking, I still had no idea what the right approach would be.  
“This is it,” I said, and exited the car. Ren removed his seat belt and walked out as well. He stayed quiet as he looked around and took in the neighbourhood. I led him up the stairs and into the apartment. He looked around, not that it was much to take in, it was a relatively modern apartment with a few paintings hanging along the walls. Nothing to indicate my own personality, except for the turntable sitting in the corner of the room. Ren’s eyes immediately shifted to it, though. He nodded in its direction.  
“For the jazz?” he asked.  
“Haha, you caught me. I had heard that the music feels more alive when played on vinyl, so I wanted to give it a try,” I said.  
“Did it?”  
“Somewhat, it feels more like the sound is all around you, but not necessarily like the actual singer is in the room, I’d say.”  
He moved over to the turntable and sat down beside it.  
“Let’s listen together, I can judge your taste in music,” he said.  
“A contest for who has the better music?” I asked, a smile playing on my face. I had the feeling I had listened to jazz longer than he had, a clear advantage for me.  
“If you want to make it a competition… I’m on,” his smile turned into a boastful one, like he thought he could beat anything.

I brought out some of my LPs, he had his music ready as a playlist on his phone. He pressed a button, his first song played, and so the contest began.  
“This one’s fantastic, and I dare you to say otherwise,” he said. The notes had an erratic flow that all merged into one coherent, fast paced song.  
“I am sorry to disappoint you, it is good, but I’d place that one at seven out of ten,” I said.  
“C’mon, it’s at least an eight,” he whined.  
“Decision’s final.”  
He huffed, turning down the volume. I brought out a slower song, similar in style to the ones we danced to in his room.  
“I’m certain you will enjoy this one,” I said. Ren perked up his head, listening.  
“Hmm, I’ll give you that. Nine out of ten,” he said.  
We continued, listing off different tracks, discussing which composers and singers we preferred. I lost track of time, but we had probably sat there for at least one and a half hours, maybe more. I played another song.  
“This one is one of my favourites,” I said. I let it play, and I closed my eyes. It had trumpets, pianos, guitars, drums, violins, bass, every instrument you could imagine that would work for a jazz song. They all culminated into one complex array of emotion in this-  
“Two out of ten. You’re really slacking off on your song choices here,” Ren said in a taunting tone.  
“Two out of ten? Can you truly not hear the brilliance of this track?” I argued.  
“It comes off as messy and unstructured, not to mention that the singer doesn’t have enough power in his voice to make up for the barrage of instruments attacking my ear drums,” Ren explained, gesticulating wild.  
“This song is a perfect example of what makes jazz so great, each player incorporating their own natural melody, their own flavour, a melody born out of pure chaos.” My voice raised slightly, after our music discussions I had higher hopes for him than to dismiss this song so carelessly.  
“Well, I’m sure you’ll appreciate it in time. Jazz is quite nuanced, it takes time to appreciate all the aspects of it,” I said, reluctantly.  
“Sounds like something a sore loser would say,” Ren taunted once again, smiling at me. My first instinct was to tell him off for being a moron, talking to me like that, the rational part of me still knew that wasn’t something I could do.  
“Haha, I’ll settle for a draw, if that’s what you want,” I said, trying to hold up the charade of a boyfriend that, of course, doesn’t care that Ren was blasting my favourite music to shreds.  
“Sounds good to me,” Ren said and stood up. He dusted off his knees and leaned down to me, pushing away some hair from my forehead and planting a kiss on it.  
“I’m winning, though,” he whispered, and I could feel the gloating smile in it. There was that show-off attitude he had.

Shortly after that, he had to head home. I offered to drive him, but he insisted on taking the train. The stress I felt when driving him to the apartment felt silly by that time. I didn’t need to do anything, I just relaxed, and Ren played off me well.

Intriguing indeed.

I hoped to get many more chances to prove him wrong about jazz.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Akechi goes "wtf is a Mona?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I am a big dumb-dumb that forgot to write about how Akechi just fucking murders Kobayakawa, which is kind of a big important plot hole hhhhhhhhh. Anyways, I made a small change in one of the previous chapters fixing that, just so all you old readers know that... that's something that did happen haha. That being said, thanks for sticking with me, I'm sure I'm going to make more mistakes like this, cause man, this is a long game and Akechi's story is kind of complicated to remember fully sometimes. Again, thank you all! :)

From the times I had met Ren and his friends, it was apparent that the Phantom Thieves were growing in numbers. Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, and Futaba Sakura. I had spoken to all of them at some point when bumping into them, but I knew there was at least still one person missing. When I first met Ren, Takamaki, and Sakomoto, there was an androgynous voice which I had yet to place to any of the Thieves. I kept in mind that it might have been someone that left the group, but I had still no idea who it could be. I knew it would be best to know all the people that had access to the metaverse, but it was simply information I had to hope Ren would give me once I infiltrated the group.

Speaking of, almost all my free time was spent trying to keep an eye on Ren. I figured that it would be easiest by spending as much time with him as possible, and secretly following him around whenever he claimed to be busy. One problem. He went a long time having no interest in hanging out, claiming that his cat had ran away and he was busy looking for it. Was he truly that sentimental? I headed over to Yongen-Jaya and kept my eyes on LeBlanc from the shadows. He never went out, though. Multiple days in a row, I was just watching. It gave me some alone time with my thoughts, at least.

One day I decided to head to the café, hoping I would also get the chance to use the opportunity to spend time with Ren. The boss, Sojiro Sakura, said he had not gotten back from school yet. I was quick with finishing my coffee and heading out, towards Okumura’s headquarters. How careless of me, almost missing them entering the palace. I heard their voices as they discussed moving in. The small one, Futaba Sakura, said they were there for “Mona”. Whatever that was. As they started the app, I walked in closer, they were negligent enough to not double-check no one was in the vicinity.

Once inside the palace, I was quick to use Loki to conceal my presence. Sakura was evidently skilled as a navigator, but I was stronger. It was then that I could peek out and see them for the first time in their metaverse outfits. Some struck me more than others. Takamaki’s sure was… out there. Quite revealing. But more importantly, Ren. He had a long coat that parted into three parts at the bottom. His shoes had slight heels, probably pushing him to be about my height, maybe just barely taller. He wore all black and dark greys, except striking red gloves and a white mask contrasting the rest of his clothes and hair. The coat flew around him as he spun around, moved and hid. It did not create the typical image of a hero, but it suited him well. I followed them and they didn’t reach extremely far into the palace before running into a hinderance, a biometric authentication system. They once again mentioned Mona, and that he could not have proceeded further than they had. Was there another metaverse user they were confronting? I suddenly got a sense of other people approaching through Loki’s navigation skills.

“Halt vigilante!” a soft, feminine voice said. I quickly stepped back and looked around, hoping they had not yet spotted me. But the voice was directed at the Thieves. They all looked toward her and shouted at her, demanding answers, asking if she was the one with the black mask, the one causing the mental shutdowns. So… they had heard of me. Ren remained cool, keeping a watchful gaze on her, but not making a sound.

Another voice, one I recognized. It was the androgynous sounding one I had heard months before. They addressed him as Mona, and I looked over, it was a cat-looking thing. Not human. Could it have been a shadow? 

Their nonsense continued, and I wanted nothing more than for them to get it over with. Did they always lollygag around when they stole treasures? Insufferable.  
The girl in the black mask, “Beauty Thief”, were about to tell them off on what it means to be a true Phantom Thief, but quickly lost her words.  
“Y-you! What do you think it means!?” she asked, pointing towards Ren.  
“One who helps the weak,” he said without missing a beat. How righteous. And naïve.  
“Yes! That’s… right?” Beauty Thief hesitated. She then started throwing insults at the thieves, before quickly losing her words again. Whoever she truly was, she was indisputably a ditz. She and Mona promised to steal the treasure and ran over to the biometric authentication system by the door. It would be silly of them to try and open it. They lacked the proper identification, not to mention that I could pick up multiple strong enemies on the other side. They would be better off to wait for the enemies to leave before heading in, considering how weak they were. Not that they could enter anyway. At least, that was my assumption, until the door opened for them.  
“Okumura…” I quietly muttered to myself. I vaguely remembered him having a daughter. I would have to do further research on other possible family members this could have been, but this was most likely her.

The enemies spotted them all, and the group panicked, especially Beauty Thief, and they scattered, saying they would meet up at their usual spot. I figured it would be LeBlanc since I had seen them meeting up there once before. I disappeared into the shadows and left the palace, frustrated with their lack of progress on it. At the very least, I had learned of this “Mona” existing, and of Okumura’s daughter being a persona user.

My new big mystery would be who or what Mona was.

Shortly after returning to the real world, I checked my phone for the information I had on Okumura. The daughter was Haru, Haru Okumura. I had almost no information on her, except that she attended Shujin. Many coincidences were happening, or maybe even fate? Nothing I found worth dwelling on. I placed myself on a bench in Shibuya Station, taking some time to gather my thoughts, I even saw a Phantom Thief or two hurry off to the trains, probably moving towards Yongen-Jaya. It wasn’t really worth for me to follow them, though, they were unlikely to make any other moves tonight. So I stayed.

Inside the metaverse, many of the things I thought impossible, were right before my eyes to see. So, was it feasible for a human to enter, and that their metaverse outfit transformed their whole body to look like a cat-like thing? I didn’t have enough proof to wave it off as inconceivable, but I had no point of reference to speculate on it much further, either. Furthermore, if this Mona was a human person, he most likely attended Shujin. I didn’t know all of Ren’s social circle, but I had never seen the group hang out with anyone else from the school. I concluded that I did need to keep a closer eye on him, after all. I stood up, readying myself to head out, when from the corner of my eye I saw two people hurrying past me, pretty far away, not noticing I was even there. It was Ren and the small one, Sakura. They seemed to have been a bit later than the rest were with reaching the trains.

I thought through my options, I wanted to spend time with Ren again soon, would tonight work? He would surely be free soon after this. I grabbed my phone and tapped away.

“I’m alone right now”

Seeing the text on screen, I realized how it must have sounded. But then again, if we really were a couple, then maybe that was the correct way to suggest hanging out. I didn’t expect an answer anytime soon, but I still got frustrated when my phone treated me with 40 minutes of silence. I continued walking around Shibuya, looking around for books, or anything to pass my time until Ren replied. Around the 45-minute mark, I got a call. It was him.

“Hello. Nice to hear from you again,” I said.  
“You too,” he said and yawned.  
“You sound tired,” I commented.  
“Mhm, but it’s okay. You wanted to meet, right? Just give me 30 minutes and then I’ll head out towards Kichijoji,” he mumbled his words.  
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I would like to spend some time alone with you. Shall I pay a visit?” I asked. He was silent for a few seconds.  
“O-oh, yes. Sorry, just, give me 30 minutes, then I’ll be ready,” he already sounded more energized, or maybe just more stressed.  
“Fantastic, I’ll be there in half an hour.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter with a whole lot of HOOO BOYYYY

I walked around some more in Shibuya to stall time before taking the train to Yongen-Jaya, but even then I was around five minutes early. As I was closing in on LeBlanc, when I was almost at the door, I saw someone exit the café. A maid. When we shared eye contact, she blushed and lowered her head, hurrying off. She looked a bit older than one typically imagined of these types of services. I found myself standing still, mouth agape, unsure how to interpret the situation. I walked closer to the door, looking in through the windows to see if anyone else was still there, before knocking. Ren hurried down the stairs and opened to see me, his hair a little more tousled than usual, and wearing pyjamas, ready to head to bed.

“H-hello,” I said, my mind still lingering on the maid exiting his residence. I hadn’t thought him the type to do something like that.  
“Hm? What’s up?” he asked. He didn’t sound as tired as before.  
“S-sorry. I probably shouldn’t pry, I just saw a maid leave the café,” I said, unsure whether asking was even the right course of action. A slight blush spread across his cheeks.  
“Oh, it’s a long story. We didn’t do anything, if you’re worried,” he said, waving a hand and stepping aside to urge me inside. His words reminding me that maybe I should have been more jealous? What would a good boyfriend do, again?  
“I trust you,” I smiled before placing a chaste kiss to his lips, “always.”  
It seemed to work, it was clear he completely lost his train of thought. I felt powerful, seeing the impact I had on him, like he was mine and mine alone to toy with.  
“Let’s head upstairs,” he finally said and gesticulated for me to take the lead. I headed further in, and up the stairs. It was still a bit dusty, but the bed was made this time, at least. My eyes stayed on the bed for a moment, the image of how Ren had pushed me down on it, him atop of me, I instinctively bit my lip.  
“It’s still quite dusty,” I commented.  
“You sound like the maid,” he gave a laugh, a nostalgic one, as if she had said it multiple times over for quite some time.  
“I didn’t take you for the type to… use those services,” I tried finding the right words, but it was difficult not to have a judgmental tone in it. He waved his hand, as if clearing the air of any misconceptions.  
“Long story. She really does just occasionally help around, and I would have preferred if she did it in normal clothes anyway,” he said.  
“Not to sound too critical, but she doesn’t seem like the best cleaner,” I said, once again eyeing the room.  
“Mm, she wasn’t here to clean today, though. She was just here to give me-… a… massage…” his words trailed off, maybe realizing how it sounded.  
“It… it really was just a massage. Nothing more,” he insisted. I felt his sincerity, but it was still a small slap to the face that he called in some random maid service for it. Did he not trust or like me enough to ask me to do things like that yet? I placed my suitcase down on the table, leaning it against the TV, and walked back to Ren. I played with his hands and then snaked my arms all the way up around his neck, placing us so close together that I could feel his uneven breathing caressing my face. His own arms finding their way around my waist, I leaned in a bit closer to his ear.  
“Sounds like something I could have done for you,” I said. I felt him urge my body to move with his, and I followed him without hesitation. He led me down into a dip, as if we were in a dance, I looked up at him, and he smirked, eyes half closed.  
“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind,” he purred. Quite suave. He led me back into a standing position.  
“Oh, did you manage to find your cat?” I said, trying to bring back the normalcy of our conversation, and as soon as the words left my mouth, something clicked in my head. His cat being gone, them looking for Mona, the cat-like thing in the palace, the voice I heard when I first met Ren and him walking around with something furry in his bag.

Ren had a talking cat.

“Akechi? Are you okay?” his voice cut through the rapid-fire thoughts circulating my head.  
“Oh, yes, sorry. Just thought of something regarding a case I’m working on,” I said, “Excuse my impoliteness, what did you say?”  
“Nothing much. We found the cat earlier,” he said, his analysing eyes glued to my face, “want to talk about the case? You never tell me much about yourself or what you do,” he said. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and patted the spot next to him, encouraging me to join him. I obliged.  
“A lot is classified, I couldn’t tell you no matter how much I wanted to,” I gave a princely smile to assure him that I, of course, would never mean to keep information from him. Ren hummed to himself, then laid down on the bed, I quickly followed, laying right next to him.  
“Could you tell me… what happened to Kobayakawa?” he asked. I let the silence sit for a minute.  
“He was your principal, correct? It must have been quite the shock,” I said. He turned to face me, and his eyes were serious, like he knew that I was the one who did it.  
“The students say the Phantom Thieves did it. Is that what you think? Is that the truth?” he asked, sounding irritated, of course he would be. I looked up at the ceiling.  
“It’s officially ruled as a heart attack.” I said.  
“Do you believe that?”  
“…no. There are some things that are… odd, about the whole situation, but…” I turned to face Ren again, “regardless of that, I believe the Phantom Thieves are not guilty of any murders.”  
His face twisted, looking like he was pondering something but couldn’t quite connect the dots. I took hold of his hand.  
“Shujin has been in the news quite a lot lately, huh? It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to assume at least one of the students there were a Phantom Thief,” I said, trying my waters.  
“Rumours are going around about that, but nothing has come of it yet,” he said, squeezing my hand back. 

He held his words well around me, but at the same time, I wondered if he suspected me. Could he suspect me though? Would he hold my hand, kiss me, be around me at all, if he thought I was the man behind the mental shutdowns? Could he have been playing me, just as I had been playing him so far? Was anything we did or said to each other real? I had already given the Phantom Thieves some trust by saying I didn’t think they were behind any killings, surely that would give me some credit with Ren, unless he already saw through my whole act.

None of that was worth my attention, though. I had no proof that Ren knew anything about my plan, and I would need to continue playing my cards that way. I needed him to trust me.

I turned to lay on my side, facing Ren, laying one hand on his chest, and caressing it up towards his neck, and on to his cheek, turning his head to look at me. I leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss.  
“Ren, I would like to see more of you today,” I whispered. I opened my eyes to see his reaction, but he was already working on climbing on top of me, and once up, he removed his shirt and leaned down to kiss me again.

That went… faster and better than expected.  
“This what you want?” he asked after kissing me roughly. I looked up and got a good look on his torso. He was still quite tan from his trip to Hawaii, and he had a rather small figure. While you could see some muscle, he looked more agile than strong. My hands reached his belly, and then moved up to his chest, his breath hitched.  
“Yes,” I said and pulled him down into another kiss. He deepened it and started working on the buttons on my own shirt, his cold fingertips teasing the warm skin under it. The taste of coffee on his tongue was still intoxicating, but I held myself in place. Last time, I had gone a bit out of control, being rougher and more forward than expected from my princely persona. This day I would stay in character, I was careful, gentle, kind, and placed Ren’s wants above my own.

As he got me out of my shirt, he took a moment to take in the view. He bit his lip and grinded against me for a moment, making me suck in a quick breath of my own.  
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he said as he leaned down, placing his forehead against my own.  
“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out together,” I tried finding whatever words were encouraging, whatever he wanted to hear, leaning in for another soft kiss. He hesitated for a moment before returning it, and then quickly moved down to place kisses on my neck. Once he reached down to my shoulders, he bit me lightly. A yelp escaped from me, but I tried to keep quiet. He kept doing it, placing kisses and biting all over me. I tried to stay still, but God, the biting was making it difficult for me. I caressed his chest, his back, dragged my fingers through his hair, anything to encourage him. He then came up to kiss me again, and one of his fingers stayed on my chest, playing with my nipple. I involuntarily jerked my hips from the sensation of both his hand and his mouth against mine, but quickly reminded myself to stay calm. Calm, calm, calm, I didn’t want to try and take over. Ren was deciding the speed and what we were going to do. What he wanted was what would move the relationship forward. So, I stayed still, kissed him when he kissed me, moved my hands over his torso, but it was becoming frustrating. Why wasn’t he moving further down? I wanted to explode, take the lead, push him down into the mattress and kiss him, bite him harder, all over his body, drop his pants and…

“Akechi,” he gave a tired sigh.  
“Mhm?” I said, my breath just lightly uneven.  
“We can do this some other time if you don’t feel like it now,” he said and got off me. I quickly grabbed his wrist.  
“O-of course I want to! Did I give any other impression?” I said, scanning my mind for what I did wrong. He eyed, me, up and down before letting his gaze fall down to the ground.  
“You don’t really seem like yourself right now. We can wait,” he said. I let his words sit with me for a moment, and realized that, yeah, of course he would notice something was different. He was smart, he could probably instantly tell that I was holding back.  
“If…” I cleared my throat, “if you want me to go all out, I can… but maybe it’s a bit much for you.”  
His eyes found mine again, a smirk played on his lips.  
“Give me your worst,” he said. A challenge, huh?

I took a hold of him and switched our positions, putting myself on top of him. I did what I wish I could have done before, I kissed him, hard, my tongue almost wrestling with his, but I instantly got confirmation of his approval from a small moan. I moved down and sucked on his neck, my hands landing on his legs and squeezing them hard to get out some of the frustration that had built up while I was holding myself back. His hips moved against mine, and before I could think, I did it back. We were dry humping each other before I grabbed his hips to keep him still, remembering I wanted to do more than just this. I moved my hand up, readying to pull down his pants. He wore sweatpants, so I could see how excited I had made him, it made it even harder for me to keep myself somewhat in check. I pulled down his pants, his boxers still being on, but as soon as I reached for them, he grabbed my hands.  
“My turn” he breathed and turned us around, him taking the top position again. He kissed me hard, one ice cold hand resting on my chest, right above my irregular hearbeat. The other hand reaching down to feel me through my pants. My hips bucked and I couldn’t hold back a deep moan. I could hear that my voice wasn’t the usual princely version I tend to use around him, but that only seemed to get him more excited as he smiled through the kiss. He finally started unbuckling my belt and pulling my pants down. His hand went straight to feel me through my boxers, and the growl that escaped me was deep and manic. My breathing became more ragged by the second. I sat up, refusing to let him play around with me any longer. We both sat, as equals, looking at each other with uneven breaths.  
“I won’t let you win this, you know,” I said and pulled him into a kiss. One of my hands around his neck, I could squeeze it, if I wanted to. I felt his erratic heartrate right beneath my fingers, and I could stop it, I could stop his breathing, however much I wanted, right here, right now. I had so much power over him. His hands found their way to my boxers, fumbling to get a hold of them to pull them off, but I wanted to see him first. My hands found their way to the waistband of his boxers, and I could feel the adrenaline rush skyrocket higher than ever before as I pulled them down.  
“You’re mine,” it was a low growl that I whispered right into his ears as I removed his last piece of clothing. As I started touching him, I felt his whole body tremble, his arms flying up around my shoulders to hold me tight as he gasped for breath.

That night, Ren and I spent a long time alone together…


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after...

I woke up to the smell of coffee all around me, and I kept my eyes closed, revelling in it for a moment more. My head rose and fell with the breathing of Ren, and I realized my head must be on his chest. Taking in the sensations surrounding me, I knew he had an arm around me, and I had been snuggled up against him. I opened my eyes and looked up towards Ren. He was on his phone, brows furrowed, concentrating on whatever he was doing. My eyes lazily moved down to his neck… That was a lot of hickeys…

I bit my lip, moved my fingers to graze them against my handiwork. My stirring broke Ren’s concentration and he looked down towards me.  
“Shujin’s uniform has a turtleneck, doesn’t it?” I asked. He returned his gaze to his phone.  
“Only the winter uniform,” he said. It was about half a month until October when everyone changes back to their winter uniforms.  
“So you’re going to have to show this off to the world, then?” my voice was hoarse, probably from the unusual amount of gasping, moaning and growling from the night’s activities. I still smiled, I wondered if I could meet any of the other Phantom Thieves, if they saw that both Ren and I were covered in these… would they figure it out? I pulled myself up and placed light kisses over the marks on his neck and chest, while dragging my hand over his belly. All of him felt so smooth.  
“Are you in a hurry today? Perhaps we have the time for a quick round two…” I whispered while continuing peppering him with my best attempt at affection.  
“If it takes anywhere near as long as yesterday, then no, we don’t have the time,” he said with a smile in his voice.  
“Don’t you want a rematch? I won last night, you know,” I teased. I felt him grab my wrists and turn me around. He pinned me down on the bed, one leg between mine.  
“You moved away every time I got you close. Total cheater move to make me do it first,” he said. I did my best to lean in close to his ear while he still firmly pushed my hands down above my head.  
“Sounds like something a sore loser would say,” I laughed quietly. I leaned back down, letting him pin me, simply awaiting his next move. Whatever it was, I was excited for it. His thumbs made small circles against the wrists he held in place. His eyes scanned my body, up and down, and he bit his lip. We had both put on our boxers again, but that was everything, the only thing standing between us.   
“You are very competitive,” he said, with a fake tone of exasperation, “but we really don’t have time. I’ll get my rematch some other day.”  
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed. I had berated myself for how hormone driven I became around Ren before, but at that point, I welcomed it. The adrenaline, the way I affected him, the sounds he made, how aggressive he could be if he wanted to… the release that he built up in me. I wanted to do it again.

Wait… that wasn’t right.

As the thought passed my mind, I reminded myself that Ren was not what I ultimately wanted. He was a necessary step for my plan to build up Shido and then strike him down. That was what it all led to. It occurred to me that maybe I was playing into the princely persona too much if I thought I wanted more of this. 

Keep it together.

What would a good boyfriend say now, again?

“Haha, of course. I wouldn’t want to force anything upon you,” I said, moving to sit up. Ren let me, and he opened his mouth to say something, but got interrupted by the sound of bells from downstairs.  
“Reeeeen! Answer your phone!” a feminine voice said.  
“Futaba’s here, wait a moment,” he quickly said and stood up, trying to jump into his Shujin uniform pants, he then almost sprinted down the stairs. I stood up, trying to listen in to what they were saying.  
“Gah! Ren, put on a shirt or something next time! Aaah my heart wasn’t ready!” she whined loudly. Ren had a darker, quieter tone in his voice, so it was harder for me to make out what he was saying. It sounded like he apologized though. It then got quiet for a moment.  
“Hey, Ren, are you sure you got those bruises in the palace? They look kind of…” she began saying, she suddenly got quiet, maybe Ren trying to stop her from talking about palaces when I was there. They both talked in hushed voices before she left. I took a couple of steps back, trying to make it look like I didn’t just eavesdrop on them as Ren headed back up the stairs.  
“Ta-da!” he said and held up a glass bottle of a beige-peachy liquid. Foundation.   
“Did she not have questions about the marks?” I asked. He waved his hand dismissively.  
“I said I got it from somewhere else, no biggie,” he said. I inspected the hickeys once more… they were obviously hickeys. No amount of explanation could convince anyone otherwise. I let him believe that she fell for it though.  
“Chin up. I’ll start with you,” he said and squirted a large amount of foundation into his hands. I did as told, giving him access, and he smeared it around my neck with no rhyme nor reason.  
“Sorry to sound like I’m doubting you, but do you know how to apply foundation?” I asked. He was quiet for a moment.  
“Looking at it now, no, probably not,” he said, but continued dragging his hands across my shoulders, putting extra consideration into my neck, seeing as that is what would actually be visible to the public. I waited for him until he took a step back, seemingly done.  
“Now do me,” he said. I complied, taking the bottle from him and squirting a small amount into my hands. I was careful, doing small clicks where it was most needed. The foundation was a couple of shades lighter than his skin, but it would probably not stand out too much once he wore the rest of his clothes. As I was carefully concealing any evidence of what I had done, Ren spoke up.  
“Hey, Akechi…” he said, and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed with his voice kept me fascinated for a second.  
“Mhm?”  
“Thank you for yesterday. It was nice seeing you like that,” he said. I tried understanding what his words meant but came up empty handed.  
“You liked me competitive and aggressive?” I asked, which he gave a light chuckle to.  
“I guess. I was going to say that I like it because you seem more at ease and like yourself”, he said. It was frustrating how well he could notice these things that no one else had done before. I was walking on thin ice with him, feeling like any second, he would completely figure me out.

That risky play was still what might be saving me. If Ren didn’t think quite as clear, if he was also driven by hormones and his feelings around me, that gave me a huge advantage for when I was going to join the Phantom Thieves. High risk, high reward, but I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, especially from Ren.

Just as I was finishing up my work on covering up the marks, we heard another person entering the café.  
“Sojiro,” Ren said with a strained voice, “you’re gonna have to be quicker than that.”  
I took only a couple more moments to finish up.  
“There, you look dashing,” I said with a smile.   
“Perfect,” he said and then pulled me into a kiss. A quick one, maybe to show his gratitude. He picked up Shujin’s summer uniform shirt, and I followed suit in putting on my own clothes again as well.  
“Well then, shall we head down?” I asked. He gave a quick nod, his expression growing serious, he then headed downstairs, he stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned to me. His hands went up to my face, but then continued on, dragging his fingers through my hair.  
“There. Dashing,” he whispered after making some adjustments to it. It must have been ruffled and dishevelled after the night’s activities and being curled up against someone for hours. I smiled and gave a knowing nod, showing my thanks. We then continued down.

Ren had prepared an explanation for my stay to tell Sakura. He claimed that I had worked on a case in a nearby area and stayed for so long that I had missed the last train back to Shibuya. I agreed and added some details to the story to make it more believable, but it was probably not even needed to sell it, Sakura seemed uninterested in the situation to begin with.  
“So, Mr. Detective, care for some breakfast?” Sakura asked me.  
“Oh, no. I must be on my way,” I then turned to Ren, “thank you for letting me stay the night. The time I spend with you is so interesting, I hope we see each other again soon.”  
“Mhm,” he nodded. So casual, like we were nothing more than acquaintances. A lie he probably felt had to sell to Sakura.

Less people talked to me in school at that point, but I welcomed it. Other people my age would often ask to borrow my study notes, or outright want us to study together. It was all a waste of time with how far ahead of them I was. It would always end up with me tutoring them, and them giving me nothing but a headache in return. People seemed to take some distance from me after the recent popularity surge of the Thieves, though. 

Maybe it was the much needed solitude, but I felt more refreshed than I had in a long time that day. I had energy to spare, and while I tended to use my time meaningfully and purposefully, I got the sense that I was even more optimal with my time management than usual that day. It gave me more free time than necessary, so as I sat in my apartment I played around with a pen in my hand, growing agitated with nothing to do. It was a Friday evening, perhaps the jazz club? Or maybe…

My eyes drifted to my phone. I could call Ren again. It was frustrating, I knew I shouldn’t call him again so soon, it would be like hurrying on the relationship for no reason. It would be better to have him wait for me, make him miss me, longing to see me again, and then call him. But I had nothing better to do, and he was a meaningful use of my time. So I pressed on his contact and heard the dial ring.

“Hey,” Ren answered. There was a great deal of background noise, sounding like people talking over music.  
“Hello. I hope I’m not bothering, I was hoping to see you again,” I said.  
“Hmm, so soon?” I could hear him smirk, like he knew I was trying to stop myself from calling him but gave in anyway. How irritating.  
“Haha, can you blame me? You surely have a way to charm those around you,” I said. I waited for a moment for his response, the other side growing quiet.  
“Sorry, someone else was talking here, couldn’t hear you. I’m working right now, but you can come by if you want, it’s at Crossroads, in Shinjuku,” he said. I played with the idea, it might be an opportunity to ask that reporter if Ren had mentioned me yet. That would surely be a good sign.  
“What an odd place for you to work Oh, but that is of course none of my business. I’ll head over immediately,” I said.  
“Oh, there aren’t a whole lot of people here, so you probably don’t need to worry about being recognized. Just, don’t wear your uniform and you’ll be fine,” he said. We said our goodbyes, and I headed out.

I got somewhat nauseous simply from the idea of entering that bar again, but it was exciting to think about seeing Ren. It was strange.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where we, for once, go back to his actual confidant

I walked through Shinjuku, on my way to Crossroads bar once again. The air was still warm, and a lot of people were out, ready for Friday night partying in Asia’s biggest red light district.  
“Oh excuse me!” I heard someone shout behind me. I looked over, and it was a lady sitting in front of a small table, looking directly at me. I looked away, not interested.  
“Oh, young man! Sorry, hello!” she shouted again. Damn it. I turned around and walked over.  
“My apologies, I was unsure if you were speaking to me,” I said with a smile.  
“I can sense your aura, you have a most interesting fate, I can feel it,” she said.  
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m the target demographic for this,” I said, readying myself to turn around and leave.  
“You’re hurrying to a place… no a person, that fate has brought you, right?” she asked. That did catch my attention, it felt like fate sometimes when Ren and I spoke, how similar we were, how he was me and I was him, and what was to come soon as my plans unraveled…  
“Hmm,” I acknowledged her.  
“One reading, I’m sure I can be of help,” she said. I sighed, giving in, and sat down in the cheap, plastic chair that matched the table it stood before. I crossed my arms, still expressing that I was not sold over on her psychic abilities. She laid out tarot cards in front of her, seven of them, and opened them one by one. The sun. The tower, reversed. The devil, reversed. Justice, reversed. The lovers. Death. The fool. Her eyes scanned the cards, and then me.  
“You had a bright future in front of you when you were little, but something happened that made you fall down a deep black hole. You… you fell into despair, and let it consume you. Right now, your views of right and wrong, they’re quite different from when you were young, huh? You don’t seem to care for it,” she said, brows furrowed and eyeballs moving rapidly over the cards. I said nothing.  
“Soon in your future, you will have a choice and… no matter what you choose, it will put and end to your goal prematurely. After all these ordeals, you’ll start a new journey,” she continued.  
“A new journey, huh? What kind?” I asked. She looked at the cards.  
“I can’t say. I think it depends on the choice you make,” she ponders. I let the silence sit between us for a moment, waiting for her to give more details. She quickly gathers up her cards again and I stood up to move on.  
“You have a similar aura to someone else I know,” she said.  
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe your cards represent my experiences very well,” I said smiling, and turned to leave. She let me.

My future… the lovers, death, and the fool. Hm, maybe there was something to what she said.

I entered Crossroads, and while the streets outside smelled of alcohol, it got even more intense inside. I looked around, only seeing Lala-chan behind the counter. I looked around, seeing Ren talk to a couple of the customers, one of them obviously eyeing his looks. Did Ren like the attention or was he that unaware? I began walking over, and Ren must have noticed me from the corner of his eye. He gave a small wave and excused himself from the two men he was talking to. Without saying a word, he gesticulated for me to take a seat by the bar, and I did as he pleased. He got behind the bar and started wiping some of the dishes with a cloth.

“Quite the interesting job,” I said. I looked around for the reporter, but didn’t spot her anywhere.  
“I doubted you’d actually come,” Ren said.  
“Why’s that?” I asked.  
“Doesn’t fit the Detective Prince,” he shrugged. Lala-chan walked over and spotted me.   
“Ah, Lala-chan, this is Akechi. Akechi, Lala-chan,” Ren said.  
“Oh, we’ve met,” Lala said with a judging tone, glaring at me.  
“Ah, yes, I haven’t told you, Ren, but I was here once before,” I said, waving my hand to keep his focus away from Lala’s demeanour. Ren raised an eyebrow, giving us both a questioning look.  
“He came here asking about you, dear” Lala said to Ren. Ren’s eyes were hard to see behind the hair and his glasses, but he faced me.  
“Quite the sleuthing detective. You could just ask me,” he said. Good explanation… good explanation… what would a good boyfriend say…  
“I was trying to figure out how to impress you. It was before we, uhm... got together,” I said, surprisingly true.  
“Ohh, tell me, are you the reason Amamiya-kun has been in such a good mood recently?” Lala-chan’s expression completely changed into a smiling one. Ren gave her a light smack on the arm, looking embarrassed.  
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I’m just glad you’re getting over your nervousness about this stuff. I’m not one to meddle into kids’ affairs, I’ll leave you be,” she said, waggling off to talk to some other customers.  
“Hmm. Seems everyone really do fall for your charms,” I said.  
“Hm?” he hummed.  
“There seems to be a lot of people deeply caring for you. Including me, of course,” I said. He just barely looked at me when I said that, keeping his gaze on the glasses he was drying off. He didn’t say anything.  
“I was hoping to spend some time with you tonight,” I tried. That caught his attention a bit more. He turned over to look at Lala-chan.  
“Lala, you okay if I go off early?” he raised his voice to make sure she heard from almost the other side of the bar. Lala-chan looked at us both and smiled.  
“Oh honey! You kids go and have fun!” she called and gave a big blow kiss in our direction. Ren got out of his work uniform and headed out with me.  
“You got something planned?” he asked. I searched my mind for what we could do together, and one prominent thing sprung up, but I didn’t want to seem desperate, asking him to do it again less than a full day after the first time we did, so I scratched that plan.  
“Do you ever go to arcades?” I asked him.

We entered the arcades, there were some patrons, mostly high schoolers. I kept my head low, hoping not to cause a scene or a dispute over what a horrible person I was for criticizing the Phantom Thieves.  
“I was recently out here gathering intel and I noticed some patrons playing this…” I began. Ren studied the machine, picked up one of the gun-like controllers, feeling the weight of it in his hand.  
“I did a bit of research. Apparently it’s a pretty hardcore shooter game,” I continued, and he smirked, looking confident as ever, “do you normally play games like these?”  
“Started up recently, I’m being trained by a pro, actually,” he said.  
“Oh, perhaps you’ve played this one before? I can only ask that you go easy on me,” I said.

The reason I wanted to try this out was because of the rumours that it was realistic, the accuracy and the feeling would be almost the same as in real life. Perhaps that gave me an advantage at the game, because…

We both took our controllers and stood ready, I breathed in and out, keeping calm. I cast a quick look to Ren, he seemed focused on the screen, readying for when it would begin. The countdown to it began, and I raised the arm I was holding the controller with. My left. No holding back.

START

Ren immediately started erratically shooting the things around him, he was relatively accurate but wasted bullets. He had a few techniques I had to be careful of, though. I didn’t miss a single shot, I kept calm, and surely started gaining larger and larger combo scores. Ren did some kind of move I almost couldn’t figure out, making me momentarily down from play.  
“Down-shot,” I heard him mutter. It gave me a chance to take a look at the scores we currently had. I was in the lead, but while I was down he was quickly gaining momentum and almost got ahead. I waited for my moment to get up, and once I did, I made one last fell swoop, shooting Ren’s character straight through the head. I won.

Once done, I noticed a couple of people had gathered around us, cheering, but I must have kept myself so focused that I didn’t notice them until it was over. I stretched out my arms and hands.  
“Phew! My fingers are going to be sore tomorrow. What a realistic game,” I said. Ren seemed somewhat displeased with the result, keeping a cold look over towards me.  
“Are you used to gunplay?” he asked. I took in the question, and how ironic it was of him to ask me that. I opened my mouth to answer, but then remembered how he had kept reacting happily when I was more honest, keeping that in my mind, I answered.  
“Ah, you noticed? Well, I’ll need as much practice as I can get if I’m going to take you out,” I said. I smiled when I said it, kept my voice steady, serious, and I saw confusion spread across Ren’s face, and his eyes almost had a spark of realization.  
“…only a joke,” I smiled, my princely smile. His face grew back to being more relaxed, he almost looked disappointed for a second. He still gave a smile, shook his head a bit, like it was a just some bad joke I made.  
“I’m new to this, I’m afraid. Perhaps we’ll chalk it up to beginner’s luck,” I said. Ren’s eyes moved across the machine we played the game on, looking sceptical. I felt I needed to move along with the subject, he seemed a bit too close to figuring me out.

“Still, this did feel a bit nostalgic for me,” I said.   
“Nostalgic?” he asked.  
“I had a toy gun like this when I was young, you know. All of this reminded me of running around the house with it, playing hero,” I said. That got a smile out of Ren.  
“You wanted to be a hero?” he asked, looking like he was proud of me for it. I suddenly remembered what the tarot lady said about my past, how when I was little, I had a bright future ahead of me.  
“I’m not totally certain, but thinking back, I suppose I must have,” I laughed a bit. How things had changed. I turned to face Ren more directly, taking a step closer, growing more serious.  
“But there are different kind of heroes, of course. Different stances they define themselves by. For example, one may stick to the vision of justice they believe in, even if others deny it…” I began.  
“Like you,” he said.  
“Huh?” I asked, almost losing my train of thought.  
“No matter what the general public says, you stick to your convictions. Especially recently with the Phantom Thieves,” he said. He certainly caught me off guard.  
“Yes, I suppose... Well, another person may simply do as others desire of them, seeking to be recognized and gratified as a hero,” the category I would fall into in the long run. I wouldn’t tell him that, of course.  
“You already called me out on my preference, so tell me… Which of these two fits more with your conception of a hero?” I asked.  
“Sticking to your justice,” he said flatly. No hesitation, eyes unreadable behind the frames of his glasses.  
“Well, I had a feeling you’d say that. But if nobody else wants the justice they fight for, isn’t that just blind self-righteousness?” I asked. Ren shook his head, his resolve on the matter unwavering.   
“Ah, I suppose that was a strange tangent… Pardon me,” I said, “whenever I talk with you, I just can’t help delving into these abstract topics…”  
I took a step closer to Ren, and looked around, making sure no one was watching us, and then took hold of his hand.  
“Being with you really opens up my mind to a lot of things, and I hope I can have the same effect on you, if you’ll let me in,” I said. Ren’s eyes darted everywhere, clearly worried someone was going to see him. He pulled his hand from mine.  
“Yeah, I think you’re interesting to speak with, too,” he said quietly. I took a step back.  
“I won’t push the subject, but I hope to see you grow more comfortable to be yourself in the public eye,” I said. He avoided eye contact.  
“Working on it,” he said.   
“If you ever need a hand in working through it, I am on your side,” I said. He took a deep breath, lessening the tension in his shoulders.  
“Thank you.”

We parted ways after that. The night was a success. “I am on your side”, and he seemed to believe it without hesitation. My plan was gaining momentum, and soon I would be in. Just a little longer now…


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BATH! BATH! BATH! BATH!

Each day grew more frustrating for me. September was almost over, and Okumura had yet to receive a calling card. I had visited his palace almost every day, and it seemed like they had cleared a path to his treasure, but they didn’t do anything with it. They waited, and waited, and waited. It felt like Ren was personally trying to get on my nerves. He came by sometimes in Kichijoji, suggesting for us to hang out, I claimed to be busy, hoping he’d use that free time to send the calling card. Nope. I urged Shido to put more pressure on the media, and hacking into the Phantom Aficionado site to spur more movement among the public. The Thieves had yet to say anything. I knew they would have to act eventually. I knew they had been in Okumura’s palace; I knew they would do it. But now, they were just teasing me with how close they were to finishing it.

I went over to LeBlanc, hoping to gain some intel, or maybe push Ren into acting faster somehow. I didn’t have a plan for how I’d go about it, but my mind wouldn’t rest until I did something. He kept going through my head, the whole plan surrounding him. Frustrating.

The familiar sound of bells greeted me as I opened the door to the café. The atmosphere was the same as usual, and with only one other customer. Not the most popular place in the area, I assumed. The aroma was so close to the way Ren smelled; I could imagine him right next to me.

“Hello, I hope I’m not intruding,” I said. Sakura looked up from a newspaper as I walked in.  
“Mr. Detective. C’mon in,” he said, straightening up and walking over the his shelf with rows and rows of coffee beans.  
“Haha, you seem to already know what I want, Boss,” I said.  
“Whelp, it’s what most people want. Any specific beans you want to try out?” he asked. I looked over his large selection.  
“I can’t say I’m too familiar with the brands. I’ll take what the house recommends,” I said.  
“Comin’ right up,” his voice sounded tired and old. As he got to work, I sat down by the counter, and right in front of me was a small row of books. I looked through them, they seemed quite complicated for a café owner to read. “Heroic Revelations”, “The Art of Automata”, “Master Swordsman”. They were all thick books, and the text inside was so small I almost doubted if Sakura could read it, even with his glasses. Must have been Ren’s. I skimmed through a couple of pages before putting them back. I was tired and didn’t want to spend what little relaxation I could that evening with reading about how machines work. Sakura eventually stopped by with my coffee and then headed back to continue reading his newspaper.  
“Say, Sakura-san. Amamiya hasn’t gotten back yet, has he?” I asked.  
“Hm? Uh, no. He usually doesn’t tell me where he heads off at night,” he said. Maybe Ren was actually taking the time to send the calling card. If that were the case, I chose a bad day to stop by. At least I could get a nice cup of coffee and relaxing atmosphere to calm my mind after weeks of anticipation.

I sipped on the warm liquid, and it had a complimentary flavour profile, I couldn’t help but sip on it more. It was spicy, but hinting at chocolate, and a heavy body to bring it all together. Perfect for some relaxation. Just as I leaned back and released some of the tension in my shoulders, it shot right up again as the bells from the door clanged through the café. I looked over and had Ren’s eyes meet mine. He seemed surprised, and then smiled slightly as he closed the door. Not a complimentary smile, the type reserved for strangers you wanted to gain favour with, but one that he appeared to have trouble holding it back. Genuine giddiness over seeing me.

“Welcome. I hope you don’t mind that I’m intruding on your home again,” I said. He gave me a nod, and walked inside with heavy steps, leaning on the counter as soon as he reached it, fatigue clear in the bags under his eyes.  
“I expect we’ve both had a long day. I was out until now with work, but I think I can finally take a break… You’re not planning on anything too strenuous tonight, are you?” I asked. In reality, while I was tired, if Ren wanted me to, I could do anything strenuous he asked for, but this was a better set up since he would probably be more likely to accept if we only relaxed together. I looked over, and the way he was hunched over gave me a clear view of his bag. And the cat, “Mona”, peeked out. I looked forward, trying not to pay it any mind. I am not supposed to know that it’s a metaverse user, after all.   
“Not much planned tonight, no,” he said. So… he had time to send the calling card tonight if he wanted to. Of course, he probably wouldn’t, considering his weariness.  
“Then perhaps we can talk over some of Boss’s coffee,” I said. Ren perked up, looked over to my cup.  
“What did you get?” he asked, eyeing the cup with fascination. I slid it closer to him.  
“You can try some if you want. I asked for his recommendation,” I said. Ren peeked over to me, and his face grew just a bit redder. He shook his head and then took the cup, sipping on it with a determined look. His eyes shone, then looked over to the shelves of different coffee beans with a contemplative look. I noticed Sakura watching him from the corner of his eye.  
“Mocha Matari, it’s a good one,” he said.  
“Hm, quite the cafephile,” I noted, resting my head in my hand as I studied him.  
“Living here turns you into one,” he smiled, and stood up to head behind the counter, “I’ll get a cup for me ready.”  
“Not that I’m complaining, but if you two are so tired, maybe you could use a bath more than a coffee,” Sakura said, stopping Ren in his tracks.   
“A bath?” Ren said. It was hard to judge his expression, but he was definitely taken aback by the proposal.  
“I mean, there’s a bathhouse right there,” Sakura said, nodding outside.  
“A bathhouse? That doesn’t sound too bad,” I said. I had already seen it when visiting LeBlanc, but had not yet gained a chance to visit it. Ren turned to me, his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly agape, seemingly thinking something over in his head. I knew exactly what.  
“Want to come with me, Ren? I’d appreciate it if you could show me the way,” I said and smiled. The smile was innocent, no one would question it, except for Ren of course, who knew what he and I shared together. I admit that I didn’t know either if it was a good plan to take baths together, naked, in public. We had only seen each other naked once before, but I delighted in the perplexed expression on his face at the idea of it. It spurred me to continue, to see him when we’re actually in there in the bathhouse.  
Ren swallowed, took a quick glance over to Sakura, who must have noticed his odd behaviour. He regained his calm composure and changed into a relaxed pose.  
“Sounds good. It’s just across the street,” he said, and walked past me, urging me to follow. I held up my coffee, taking a few larger sips.  
“Oh… really?” I held up a smile, but it failed to reach all the way up to my eyes. Ren smiled too, challenging me to go through with it.  
“If that’s the case, I suppose I’ll take you and Boss up on that suggestion,” I said, finishing the coffee in one swell swoop. Ren took off his bag, leaving the cat in the café, and I grabbed some money to pay Sakura for the coffee. Then we headed off.

The changing room was empty, just Ren and I, hesitating to take off our clothes. I checked my phone to pass time for myself, looking occupied, and I heard Ren take a slightly deeper breath before he took off his shirt. I looked over, and he gave me a confident smile.  
“You okay? It’s a bathhouse, you know,” he mocked. Show-off, like he wasn’t even more nervous than I was up until just a second ago. I quickly got rid of my knitted vest and started unbuttoning my shirt, trying to catch up to him. As we got rid of our clothes, we had our backs turned to each other, nervous to turn around and see each other. I felt that it only got me more excited for when I was eventually going to see him. I took a moment to slow down and take a deep breath.

Focused thoughts. Not thinking about anything unnecessary. Damn hormones.

As I got down to only being in my boxers, I took a glanced over to see Ren. I got a glimpse of him before he wrapped a towel around his hips. Right, towel. Of course, I had almost forgotten we could wear that for now…  
“Are you peeking?” I could hear the gleeful smile in just his voice. Ugh, okay, what should I say…  
“Haha, it’s hard not to,” I said. Just as I finished wrapping the towel around myself, I turned towards him, and now we both faced each other, almost completely naked. My face felt warmer than before, and it didn’t help to see Ren like that. The night I spent with Ren was about two weeks prior, and my dreams would remind me of it every other night, but I was pent up with not having seen him much since then. So now, when he stood there, I really wanted to take him home with me after the bathhouse. He was lean, I was just barely able to make out a six-pack, and what more on his belly… a hardly visible happy trail leading my eyes down to the towel. I shook my head to keep my thoughts steady. I then took a couple of steps forward until I was just short of three feet away from him. I heard his breath hitch.  
“Not here,” he said in a hushed tone.  
“No I was just…” I reached my hands up to his face, taking hold of the frames of his glasses, and pulling them off, “can’t wear these in there, right?”  
Ren released a shaky breath.  
“Right,” he said.  
We both headed into the bathhouse and were careful in not looking at each other while we removed the towels and got in the water. It was empty except for us, I logically knew I could do whatever I wanted, but I suspected Ren would be against any of my ideas. 

Nonetheless, I let the warmth permeate my body. Any tension, which admittedly there was a lot of between Ren and I, slowly evaporated with the heat of the water. I closed my eyes, basking in the sensation.  
“Ahh… this feels wonderful…it’s been a while,” I said. I heard Ren shift in the water.  
“A while, huh?”  
“Years. I used to frequent one when I was younger,” I said. Ren made a small sound, confirming he was listening to what I said. His voice sounded as relaxed as mine.  
“Nowadays, I’m the Detective Prince, but back then my family situation was… well, complicated,” I said.  
“How so?” he asked.  
“By the time I was old enough to realize it, my father was already gone. My mother was all I had,” as soon as I said that, I caught myself on what I was talking about. It wasn’t something I was planning on sharing with Ren, my plan was always to have Ren rely on me, this was irrelevant to that mission. I opened my eyes and saw him sitting just a short distance away from me, his eyes focused, eyebrows furrowed. All his concentration on what I was saying. With his peering gaze on me like that, I knew I couldn’t simply change the subject and have him drop it. I took a second to think. If I continued talking, would he think less of me? Place any suspicion on me? If so, it could put things in jeopardy. But the way he looked at me, I got a feeling he wouldn’t abandon his hope in me that easily. He was naïve like that.

“My mother worked at a nightclub. Whenever she had to bring a man home, she’d send me off to the local bathhouse,” I said, trying to find the words. I tended not to think back to my mother much, it almost surprised me how memories of my childhood flooded back when I was with Ren recently.  
“…You’ve been through a lot,” Ren said. We shared a moment of eye contact, and I raised my hand to wave it off.  
“It’s in the past. I have no reason to blame her either,” but thinking back to her got me angry. My anger wasn’t directed at her, though.  
“The only one who deserves blame is my father. The worthless, degenerate excuse for a man who abandoned my mother,” I hadn’t noticed I had fisted my hands until I felt a light rubbing against my knuckles. I looked, and saw Ren reaching forward, placing his hand over mine beneath the water’s surface. I relaxed, let his hand sink into mine, and our fingers intertwined. He gave my hand a squeeze, and while his eyebrows were furrowed, he offered a reassuring smile. Was that pity?  
“I… wanted to force him to finally give her the apology he owes her. But… that’s no longer possible,” I said. I felt a lump in my throat after that. I wanted to end the discussion. Any more and Ren would think I was weak.  
“Akechi…” Ren began. I had a way to get the revenge my mother deserved on my father now. I was determined I would not mess it up after all those years working under him. Whatever. Ren’s pity was something I could ignore for the greater plan.  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean for our conversation to get so depressing,” I gave a big smile, coming back into my usual demeanour. Ren seemed worried, but let go of my hand, giving me confirmation that I could go back to a more casual subject.  
“Actually, are you alright? I know the hot water can make people dizzy…” I said, keeping up the smile. Ren scoffed.  
“This is nothing. You should come here on a rainy day to know some real intense heat. I’ll stay until you’re ready,” he gloated, stretching his neck and leaning back. I laughed a bit.  
“I take pretty long baths, though. You sure you can handle it?” I enjoyed coming back to the never-ending back-and-forth between us.

…  
Never-ending… well. For a month or so more, probably. After that, he'd be dead by my feet.

**Author's Note:**

> dELiciOUs PAnCakEs


End file.
